


Stupid for You

by vanira



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 90s, Alternative Rock, Cliche, Feelings Realization, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Kissing, M/M, POV Alternating, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Swearing, Teenagers, Theatre Kid, american highschool, side kagehina, side kuroken, too many 90s aus and cliches actually, underage smoking/drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:20:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26432557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanira/pseuds/vanira
Summary: Uncultured, out of the loop, maybe even a little scary. Kei, a senior with a rather groggy outlook on life, finds himself caught up in the messy, rose-tinted high school cliches he swore he'd never get himself into.From locker notes, hiding under the bleachers, getting caught up in a rumor that totally isn't true and falling in love, it takes a lot out of Kei to realize that there's more to life than skateboarding, flannel tees and electric guitars; and maybe he starts to like it.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 30
Kudos: 52





	1. Chemistry

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for stopping by! The entire idea of this fic comes from my obsession with every 90's based high school movie you can think of, and I really wanted to take my own spin on it and try something fun. It's very slow burn based, and pining doesn't really come into the story until later chapters, so I hope you're into that! 
> 
> A few disclaimers include:  
> • While this fic is set in Virginia, America, the boys are still Japanese full and full, it only takes place in America for the sake of achieving that authentic 90's high school feel. There's no whitewashing here.  
> •Although Tsukishima and Yamagachi are the main ships in this fic, there will be sub plots for the sake of development as well as other Haikyuu couples being brought into play; if you don't like anything tagged, maybe this fic isn't for you.  
> •There's slight mentions of homophobia & bad parenting, if that triggers you then this fic isn't for you either.  
> •Lastly, a lot of stereotypical tropes and cliches will be included in this fic for the sake of comedy and really making this stand as a 90's inspired fic.

**Chapter 1: Chemistry**

**_September 8th, 1997._ **

It was always warm on the first day back to high school.

The sky was always clear, not a single cloud to be seen, the beach wasn’t too far away and the smell of hot pavement under tires was overwhelming, because it was all the more _sad_ and somewhat pathetic to return to a teacher guarded prison that smelled of pencil shavings and boxed juice on a warm, _sunny_ day.

It was a reminder that yes, summer vacation is over, and no, you can’t suffocate yourself with your own pillow to avoid the piercing ring of your alarm clock today, or for the foreseeable future. That didn’t mean that a few people wouldn’t attempt to remain in the safety of their bedrooms that very morning however. 

Kei was one of these people. 

Checkered black and white bed sheets were disheveled, a tuft of bleached blond hair barely peeking out of the top, a leg sticking out of the comfort of his duvet, the sun barely splitting through black out curtains; it was a perfect set up of comfort to disrupt with the shrill sound of a cheap, plastic LED alarm clock, red digits reading 7:00 AM flashing aggressively. 

Kei’s groan is as normal as any 17 year old’s, full of desperation and confusion as he fumbles to grab his glasses from his nightstand that’s currently littered with empty candy wrappers and empty cups, much to his mother’s disapproval. It’s only when he’s gotten the glasses on, although slightly askew, that he attempts to turn the alarm clock off, that, obnoxiously (In Kei’s words.) woke him up. ‘ _High school is fucking lame._ ’ He thinks to himself, turning over in bed as his body acts on it’s own, currently in airplane mode as it craves all the more sleep. 

He’s about to doze off, the shrill alarm clock only foggy memories to him now.

Maybe, _just maybe_ if he goes back to sleep they’ll miraculously have a snow day in the middle of September. 

_Yeah...that’d be nice._

“Kei! Get up!” _One could dream._

Of course it was his _darling_ Mother. 

Oh, what a bucket of sunshine she was, ripping the curtains open, flinging the window open and pulling the thick duvet off of Kei, much to his groan of protest and rub to his eyes under his glasses.

“There’s pancakes in the kitchen for you, no bacon. Now get up, you’ll be late.” 

No bacon? Just how bad could the day get? 

When Kei finally opens his eyes to face his Mother, he’s near blinded by the sun now flooding his messy bedroom, and it ushers another groan out of him as the click of his Mother’s heels echoes down the hallway.

“Hurry! I mean it, Kei!”

_Of course it was fucking sunny on the first day of school._

* * *

Kei hated how everybody gathered outside the school gates on the first day back. _It’s been 10 weeks, not a decade._ It’s thoughts like this, (That Kei calls intrusive, despite not knowing it’s true meaning.) that results in him having two friends max. It also results in judgemental glances, whispers and the occasional snicker thrown in his direction. 

For one, Kei wasn’t one that exactly fit in, from the long sleeved shirt _under_ a logo print short shirt, ripped jeans that were held together with safety pins and wrecked converse, he stood out _just a little_.

“Tsukki! Hey, there the fuck you are!” 

He stops in his tracks, both from the nickname he _despised_ and the unexpected earliness of his best friend, Kuroo; the sound of his skateboard against the pavement nearing him as every second passed.

“I told you not to call me that.” Kei’s voice is dismissive as much as it is firm as Kuroo picks up his skateboard with ease, carrying it under his arm, to which he’s met with a characteristic, shit eating grin. “Yeah, yeah.” Kuroo waves an arm, adjusting his backpack that’s currently slipping off of the one shoulder he’s keeping it hoisted up on. “You wanna dip later? It’s already a shit show here.” Kei near groans out, yawning loudly as he stretches his arms above his head, turning to face the taller as he’s met with a frown. “My mom isn’t working today, man, and there’s no way we can crash at your place with your brother around.” Kei is gritting his teeth at the denial of all he wanted right now, but Kuroo was right, Akiteru would _bust his ass_ if he caught him flunking school, despite Kei’s reputation.

“We can’t go to the bleachers either, VP is keeping the pitch gates locked.” 

Almost tripping up the entrance stairs, Kei grunts in reply, running a hand through his hair as the smell of lockers and chalk smacks him in the face. 

Guess he’d have to endure it.

They weren’t bad people, well, at least not on the outside. Sure, Kei and Kuroo got caught smoking under the bleachers, shooting wet paper towels out of straws, writing their names on the doors of the gym bathroom stalls, throwing paper at whoever had the misfortune of sitting in front of them, oh, and they got suspended _once_ for getting into a nasty fight, but they weren’t _bad people_. 

They certainly weren’t bullies either, in fact, they were the type to _stop_ bullying if they caught it, Kuroo more than Kei, they just _lacked_ any capacity to _care_ , because high school was _lame_ , and they wanted nothing less than to be _lame_ and to _conform_ , especially in these four walls they called hell. 

Their Mother’s blamed it on the music, their Father’s on the lack of discipline, but Kei and Kuroo blamed it on everybody but themselves. 

The student body didn’t exactly _fear_ Kei and Kuroo, they just preferred to stay out of their way. In private however, they were always on somebody’s lips at some point, either it was a comment about their unbearable behaviour or their...interesting dress sense and wrecked skateboards that marked the school hallway floors if they dared to ride out home.

It wasn’t like they cared what other people thought of them though, but who actually likes getting spoken about behind their backs? 

That’s Kei’s point exactly as he overhears a group of soccer jocks making an off-hand comment about Kuroo during second period, just before lunch. 

Kei isn’t a bodyguard, maybe a guard dog, one you wanted to kick out of fear but felt bad for later because _awww...it was just a dog...i wonder if it’s okay._

Kei wouldn’t want someone to wonder if he was okay though, he wanted them to remember to keep their mouth’s shut, for lack of a better phrase. 

“Ah, Bokuto, you’re still talking about everybody but yourself.”

The smirk across Kei’s lips is one _anybody_ would want to punch, even he knew that himself, why else would he do it? 

Reaching for his chemistry book, tattered edges, dog ears and all, he rolls his eyes and sighs, closing his locker shut with a little more force than necessary. Kei didn’t exactly like getting into arguments, he didn’t start them or look for them, but he ended them for sure, that was _positive_. 

“It’s pathetic, you should go stretch before your brain short circuits again.”

Kei doesn’t wait for a response, in fact, he didn’t _get one_ , the soccer team was an easy target, too stupid to understand his words or insults. 

He’s already halfway to the cafeteria, half of a bland sandwich his Mother put together for him in between his lips as his hands are fumbling with his backpack, and as he shoves his chemistry book into his bag he can practically feel Bokotu’s eyes burning into the back of his head with dumb anger. 

Kei laughs.

_How lame._

It didn’t take him long to make his way to the cafeteria, and further to the table Kuroo and the rest of his friends had claimed since freshman year. Was it near a trash can that was currently _covered_ with mayo? Yes. Was it beside the table of utterly _desperate_ virgins who apparently didn’t know a washing machine existed? Yes. Did Kei care? Not exactly.

In his own words, it was _as far away from the jocks as possible_ , which meant no food being thrown in his direction, no annoyingly stupid remarks and no dodging of a soccer ball and misogynistic comments about the cheerleader department, or _any_ girl for that matter.

With his gaze catching that same soccer table he despised and slowly drifting to his own, Kei rolls his eyes as he catches Kuroo and Kageyama currently holding each other in what seemed to be a headlock, or, an attempt of one at least.

“Can you two at least pretend to have brains?” Kei’s plastic lunch tray is lightly thrown onto the cafeteria table as he sighs, though the light and teasing smirk across his lips is all telling of his playfulness. “Nah, I think it’s impossible at this rate, good attempt though.” Kageyama replied cheekily, a smirk returned as he attempted to free himself of Kuroo’s grip.

Although not having seen him over the summer, Kageyama looked more or less the same to Kei. He wasn’t much different to Kuroo, with the same logo band shirts, dirty converse and skateboard to match, it wasn’t exactly a mystery to the three on why they were referred to the punks, emos, _weirdos_ , or even pot-heads. (It was only a _few_ times.)

“Get this. I opened my locker today and there was already some fucking _Homecoming_ quiz in there.” Kei is barely listening to Kuroo at this point as he slaps the paper onto the cafeteria table, edges getting sticking from god knows what, because he’s far too focused on the peanut butter sandwiches his Mother put together for him earlier. “Do I look like I’m on the student committee?” Kageyama laughs at that part, mostly at the thought of Kuroo doing _anything_ productive, and Kei laughs too, washing his sandwich down with a gulp of warm juice.

“It’s not _that_ bad, hey, maybe you can actually go with someone this year.” Kei teases as he clears his throat, shooting a teasing look over to his friends who had now finally untangled themselves from each other. “Yeah? Like you’re one to talk, you had a family get together last year? My _ass_ .” Kuroo is as _annoying_ as he is right, and that’s what irritates Kei all the more, that and his annoying bellow of a laugh that Kageyama decides to chime in with.

He actually _did_ have a family get together the year before, he just didn’t _go to it_ , because why would he? Avoiding an earful from his family on how he had to improve on his grades and take school more seriously sounded a lot better than enduring spending any time with them.

It’s not like Kei actually liked Homecoming or any sort of dances either. It was a waste of time and money, usually after a soccer game he didn’t care for, filled with cheap tasting punch, usually bad music, spare the _one_ Green Day song, and the smell of sweat and cheap perfume, not to mention he wouldn’t even _know_ who to bring; everyone annoyed him to _no end_. 

“Shut up. At least I didn’t have to go with one of you.” It was a stab, yes, to the fact that Kuroo and Kageyama _took each other_ to Homecoming last year. 

_‘No homo, bro.’_

_‘Yeah, we just wanna go and don’t wanna deal with chicks.’_

_They were lucky if any girl even wanted to look at them_ , Kei thinks to himself, another smirk across his lips.

“But like, seriously, we’ve been in school for _two minutes_ and they’re already talking about it? Give me a break.” Kuroo wasn’t going to shut up any time soon Kei decides, especially after the exhausted sigh he lets out, Kageyama nodding in agreement. He agreed, to some extent, but he always had that thought in the back of his head, you know, _intrusive thoughts_ as he would call them, that, in theory, it _did_ sound nice, to dance with someone you held feelings for, to have fun with a close knit group of friends, but Kei and his friends _weren’t_ those kind of people; Kei especially with his somewhat concerning disinterest in all things relationships, love and anything that wasn’t Nirvana or Green Day.

They spend the rest of lunch bickering back and forth, nothing unusual, coloring their fingernails in with black marker and adjusting whatever parts of their backpacks that were threatening to fall off.

Thoughts of Homecoming could _wait_ , Kei was busy finishing his juice box.

* * *

Chemistry. The smell of old textbooks, wooden stools scraping against tiled flooring, lab coats that definitely didn’t get washed regularly, goggles that dug into the back of your head painfully, a teacher who had roughly five cups of coffee already today, and was grumpy from near overdosing on caffeine by twelve thirty.

Despite all of it’s terrible qualities, Tadashi _loved_ Chemistry. 

Tadashi loved a lot of things that _weren’t supposed_ to be loved, and the first day of school was one of them, along with un-frosted strawberry pop tarts, diet coke, waking up early and getting breakfast into him _before_ seven am. 

Compared to everybody else though, despite his penchant for the un-ordinary, Tadashi was relatively _normal_. 

He didn’t stick out, he didn’t _want_ to stick out, he wanted to hide, actually, keep the attention off of himself unless it was to answer a question. That’s why he stuck to colored pants, usually monochromatic, and a white logo shirt. He was orderly, too, despite the one strand of hair that refused to lay straight against his head that is, but orderly none of the less. 

_At least his shoes were clean._

With his love for Chemistry, of course Tadashi was the first to class. 

It was senior year after all, and he has to take his classes seriously, right? It’s _important_ , right? That’s what he tells himself at least, gives himself an excuse for being so enthusiastic about the new school year, even if he was the only one to feel that way.

“Good afternoon, I trust you’re all--” 

Clicking of heels and a sigh, an exasperated drop of her hand’s to her sides in a form of disappointment, senior year’s chemistry teacher wasn’t one to annoy, though the class of 97’ were doing _just that_ as she enters the room with now defeated enthusiasm and a shot down smile.

The class was empty albeit six students, including Tadashi, and only after a few seconds did the rest of the class walk into the science lab, laughter following them with post lunch giddiness and excitement.

A soccer player was in front of the loud crowd nearing the doorway, Tadashi didn’t know his name of course, but his jersey and mud across his cheek was enough to give that away as he was as brainless as the rest of the sports department.

Tadashi snickers at his own off hand comment quietly as the crowd grows silent at the same time, now aware that they _were_ in fact late on the first day, quiet spurts and whispers of ‘sorry, ma’am’, ‘it won’t happen again’ and winces sounding as it gives Tadashi time to take his planner out, ignoring the stranger, to him at least, that decided to sit beside him hurriedly. 

“I understand that you have lunch right before this class, but being late will not be tolerated.” 

Gazes attempting not to meet the teacher’s, bags absentmindedly pushed to the floor in front of wooden stools, she sighs heavily once more, shaking her head as she takes out the roll call record, clicking her pen. 

“That was your only warning, I trust you’ll listen to it.”

Her words practically go in one of Tadashi’s ears and out of the other, he wasn’t _going_ to be late to begin with. 

The classroom is practically silent as the class of 97’ listened to their warning, guilty eyes and teeth pressing into the bottom of lips out of nerves and annoyance. 

“Oh, and stand up, you’re going to get designated seats. Whoever you sit beside? Congrats, that’s your partner for the year. Play nice.” 

Wooden stools scrape across the floor as the class stand up in unison, reaching for their bags with heavy stomach’s filled with candy and canteen food aiding in their trudging forms, though Tadashi was moving with a spring in his step, unbothered, expectant of someone just as quiet as him to sit beside him, it _always_ worked out that way. 

* * *

Kei _hated_ Chemistry. 

It was the one subject he loathed, despised even. 

What was the point in doing pointless experiments if you already know the outcome?

It was so _boring_. 

But Kei had to pick at least one science subject, he was told, and mixing calcium chloride and water seemed far more interesting than calculating how far the sun was away from the moon in Physics. Biology? He’d rather rip his hair out, strand by bleached strand. 

That’s why, being _late_ to Chemistry was the only thing that made perfect sense to Kei right now. 

Nobody would catch him _dead_ running to class. 

The hallways are eerily quiet, save the few students that are hurriedly running to different bright red classroom doors and a group of seniors, much like himself, casually making their way to the science labs. 

Although they seemed positively late by roughly four minutes, they didn’t seem to care.

Hey, it was a good way to slip into the crowd, avoid being singled out by a self absorbed high school teacher and getting it in the ear for a solid thirty seconds while the class swallowed and muffled their laughs. 

Sadly, avoiding such a scenario was only _half_ way impossible. That’s why Kei is in the middle of rolling his eyes, standing at the top of the room with the rest of the class, awaiting his “designated” seat, (It’s a form of controlling us.) Kei would usually say if Kuroo was standing beside him, but the dumbass, in Kei’s own words, decided to take the bore of a class called Biology. 

Like he said, _strand by bleached strand. Pulled out. One by one._

Half of the class was filled with people Kei didn’t bother to take any notice of before, he swears he’s never seen a few of them, too. Are they transfer students? No, they couldn’t be, who the fuck would transfer here? 

Most of the girls looked the same to Kei, give or take a few that went to bible studies after classes, but he could say that about the boys, too. 

Either you were a brainless jock that was property of the sports department, a pot head that dipped under the bleachers, (He fit into that, occasionally.) or a self absorbed _nobody_ that dedicated themselves to school work. 

Kei hated them the most, really, because _what_ was the point? Peaking in high school? How lame.

“Kei. Hello? Over here?”

Looking up from his frayed Chemistry book, Kei is disrupted by his thoughts with the nagging annoyance that was his Chemistry teacher, to which he replies with a hum of curiosity; and further met with a roll of the teacher’s eyes and a point to a lab counter by the window.

Great, the sun would _glare_ on his glasses.

“Beside Tadashi. Take your seat quickly, please.”

Tadashi... _was he another transfer student_? 

He shrugs, hitching his battered and washed out backpack up his arm as he makes his way to the same lab counter that would blind him for the rest of the year. 

At least he didn’t know Tadashi, and as he briefly glances him up and down it clicks.

Ah, it was _Freckles._

Don’t get it twisted, Kei really _didn’t_ know Tadashi. He knows the back of his head more than anything, that, and the back of his arm that seemingly never lowered during English Lit. He was _one of those_ people, always lingering in nearly every class the blond had the misfortune of attending, much like the awful excuses of the signs their home room teacher had up of motivational quotes, which was kind of funny, really. 

What was more motivational than a droopy sign saying ‘ _Tomorrow is another day!’_ whilst barely handling to keep itself up? 

Tadashi looked like he was going to cry most of the time, especially when Kei caught sight of him during P.E, it’s like he wanted to be there _less_ than Kei, which he didn’t think was humanly possible.

That was it though. Tadashi didn’t really stick out, he was annoying every now and then but...that was it. He could have a worse Chemistry partner.

It wasn’t like Kei would contribute to any work, though, which was why, in some sense, Tadashi was the _perfect_ Chemistry partner. He wouldn’t flunk the work just because Kei did, he’d do _double_ the work so he wouldn’t fail.

Kei is smirking to himself at this revelation, setting his backpack on the floor in front of the wooden stool he’s perked himself up on, and as he pulls himself towards the counter, almost falling on his ass in the process, he shoots Tadashi a...smile. If one could even call it that.

It was almost a ‘thanks for all of your hard work, man!’ in advance.

Of course he notices how Tadashi _wasn’t_ looking his way in response, the sound of the teacher continuing to assign seats echoing throughout the classroom in the back.

* * *

A shit eating grin. One you wanted to punch out of habit. That was all Tadashi could see, or even think of at the moment. 

Out of all people, why did it have to be Kei? 

Why couldn’t it have been the guy who sniffs glue at the back of the class? Or the bible studies chick who wouldn’t shut up about her purity ring? 

It was a slap in the face, that no, Tadashi could not predict who would sit beside him like some Saturday night psychic his Mother watched on channel seven, and hollered at the TV for being so accurate.

He’s gripping at his planner, face stuck with pent up anger that Tadashi himself still didn’t know how to process. 

_Just look away from him, don’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that his presence annoys you to no end._

If only it was easy for Tadashi to hide his feelings so easily.

The same sun that glares off of Kei’s glasses makes Tadashi’s freckled cheeks grow red with the heat. 

He makes sure to avoid all eye contact with the blond, he wouldn’t speak a single word as if his life depended on it. 

After all, Kei was exactly the kind of person that Tadashi despised. What was so fun about making every teacher’s life living hell? Disrupting the class from those who actually want to learn? As loser-ish as Tadashi knew he would be judged as, these were the thoughts that clouded his mind and made him despise Kei all the more. 

Nothing aggravated him more, especially since he was the victim of Kei and Kuroo’s ‘messing around’ last year. Was it English Lit? Third period? Yeah. 

It took _forever_ to get that sticky, wet paper out of his hair.

Tadashi visibly shudders at the memory, habitually running a hair through the back of his hair with a soft frown. 

Tapping against the wooden counter, turning the water tap on and off, a pen constantly clicking, a foot drumming against the wooden stool the other was propped up on, _messy notes that were practically ineligible_ _and lackluster_. 

Tadashi decides in this moment that he _doesn’t_ love Chemistry anymore. 

“That wraps it up! Remember, that project is due in _precisely_ two weeks. Any later and your mark will be docked 20%.”

An audible, in unison groan is heard from the class, and it’s met with a glare that quietens it as quickly as it erupted seconds ago. 

But instead of Tadashi hurriedly writing down any information possible, he’s pulled from his thoughts of _loathing_ his new science buddy and left in utter confusion as the bell rings and pierces his ears. Did time truly pass by so fast when you were thinking of something that hard?

 _Shit_. What is the project even about? And why do they already have one on the first day of school? Talk about _rough_. 

“I don’t care how you do it together, but it’s a _joined effort_ , I want equal effort from _both_ parties.”

Tadashi is panicking now, blinking as he watches his fellow classmates stand up and pack their books into their backpacks, zippers echoing throughout the classroom.

Truth be told, Tadashi would avoid talking to Kei in every way he could, he’d even go as far to do the entire project himself to _avoid_ any contact with him. But now, Kei had the advantage, that was if he was even listening to _begin_ with. He couldn’t ask the teacher either, it would show he _wasn’t_ paying attention and that he was in fact, daydreaming about whatever negative feelings he held for Kei. 

“U-Um..”

Tadashi speaks in a stutter, and he mentally curses at himself for how fucking _shaky_ he was right now, and how his brain went into overdrive and made him call out to Kei, or at least in his direction. It wasn’t like he was scared of the taller...he just...wasn’t comfortable around him. Yeah. 

Kei of course, wasn’t listening, he was already a good distance away from the counter they shared, a slight look of exhaustion on his face. 

“Kei, wait--” Tadashi is louder now, still fumbling with his over the shoulder school bag as he shoves his planner in, his other hand, to his own distaste, reaching out to tap the taller’s shoulder. It’s only now that he notices just how much _bigger_ Kei is than him, it’s kinda scary, and it has him blinking, dumbfounded at his _own_ behaviour, his cheeks heating up as he finds the other somewhat intimidating. 

Fuck. Kei would like that, wouldn’t he? To be thought of as _intimidating_. Cut it out. 

“Huh?” Kei turns around, a little surprised himself. Since when could this kid talk about anything but Macbeth and the wonderful world of alliteration? Beats him. Still, he’s intrigued now, to say the least. He raises a brow, adjusting his backpack that threatened to fall if he didn’t any time sooner. He wondered if Tadashi was aware of just how _scared_ he looked right now. Kei chuckles, shoving his hands into his pocket that were skillfully decorated with safety pins.  
“Well? Spit it out, freckles, I don’t have all day.”

Tadashi, _was_ aware of how much of a shaken up _loser_ he looked like right now, he’d slap himself with both hands if he could, and with Kei’s response he gulps, blinking a few times before he decides to knock some sense into himself. 

It was more of a stab to his pride to even speak to Kei, much less acknowledge him, not so much the: _‘Holy shit, you’re Kei and you could totally beat my ass right now if you wanted to.’_

“The project. What’s it about? I..I wasn’t listening.” That in itself makes Tadashi want to crawl into a hole and remain undiscovered for a while. It would make sense if Tadashi was asking the guy for pot, or for a dirty deed to be done, but this was _academics_ for crying out loud, he should have the upperhand in this _one_ subject.

Kei laughs again, and it’s somewhat condescending, “You weren’t listening? And you’re asking me? That’s rich.” The taller glances to the chalkboard, glances back to Tadashi and shrugs. “I think I wrote it down, but it’s a _bummer_ that I can’t remember what it was about.” 

Condescending smile, glasses that had a glare from the sun. The very view made Tadashi want to explode. “But, if you come around to my place to work on it with me,--” (That was a lie.) “--I’d know then, wouldn’t I?” 

Tadashi opens his mouth as if to say something, but he’s cut short by the obvious silence now filling the room as most of the class had left, and the loud, ignorant, _obnoxious_ holler from no other than Kuroo himself in the doorway, motioning to Kei with those big fucking limbs of his. 

“Good plan, right?” Would Tadashi ever get a minute to _speak_ at this rate? 

“Yes. Yes it’s a good plan--!” He practically shouts out, almost to say that _yes, i’m still here, Kei, and you’re not going to speak to me like i’m some automated phone machine at the mall._

Another shit eating grin. “Good. Come by later, I know you do that after school shit or whatever-” Kei has practically left the room at this point, ballpoint pen behind his ear as he looks over to Kuroo with an all knowing smirk.

Tadashi was left there with post high school ambience, his bag messy, planner still sticking out of the top.

He _hated_ Chemistry. 


	2. High Definition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Homophobic behavior is ahead, but all for the sake of plot and development.

**Chapter 2: High Definition**

“Oh come on! I almost got that one in! Did you see that? Tadashi--!” 

No, Tadashi didn’t see Shoyo attempt to throw his fifth piece of crumpled up paper into the trashcan across the classroom. 

Tadashi was far too busy looking at the paper in his hand with an expression he’d later describe as  _ terrified _ , bent into a V shape as he sits at a desk, legs propped up with his eyebrows knitted in concentration. 

Kei wasn’t scary, well, not  _ that  _ scary, and even if he  _ was _ scary, at least Tadashi got to go home at the end of the day and forget about his existence for a couple of hours before Chemistry class the next day. But, now that they had a project to do together, running away from his problems  _ wasn't _ going to work in this case, and drowning them out to the sound of Oasis wasn’t going to help either.

_ Just his luck _ .

As Tadashi continues to drown out the sound of Shoyo annoyingly screaming at his own paper throwing failures, he continues to stare at the ripped, messy note in his hand with Kei’s address scribbled across it in black, smeared ink. He was surprised he could even  _ make out  _ what it said.

‘ _ Don’t be late,  _

_ Kei’ _

He could practically hear the taller’s teasing tone as he continued to read the same line over and over again, attempted to mimic his voice inside his head, tried to encapsulate how  _ annoying  _ and  _ obnoxious _ it was, but only Kei could do that it seemed.

Earlier, as Tadashi finally ripped himself away from the science lab Kei left him in, he was greeted with several sheets of paper that fell from his locker once he managed to get it open. (Tadashi is academically gifted, but remembering his locker code is  _ hard _ .) A Homecoming leaflet...a debate team notice...oh, and the piece of paper that is haunting him to this hour and stops him in his steps as he attempts to make his way to his drama club meeting,  _ after school shit _ , as Kei would call it. 

Huffing, Tadashi crumples the sheet of paper up and throws it to the same trashcan Shoyo was currently yelling at, skillfully, or really,  _ luckily _ getting it in, to which Shoyo holds his arms up in desperation. 

“Well? Are you gonna tell us what’s wrong?” Shoyo is shouting, again, but it doesn’t surprise Tadashi in the slightest because Shoyo was  _ naturally  _ loud, he didn’t have an off switch and if he did have one it was  _ very _ hard to find.

Shoyo himself however,  _ wasn’t _ hard to find, from his bright orange hair, bright clothing choices such as the red leg warmers he was wearing on his  _ arms _ , denim overalls and bucket hat to match, Shoyo  _ wanted _ to be noticed. Little did he know that it would result in regular toilet swirlies if he didn’t watch his back, and the infamous stealing of his backpack that later got thrown onto the soccer pitch. 

“What’s wrong? Um...well. let’s see...I might drop out of high school before I graduate.” Tadashi is now holding his school bag that’s in his lap with both arms, hugging it before he buries his face into the coarse material, groaning tiredly.

Shoyo hums in curiosity, dragging a chair across the classroom floor and sitting on it backwards, resting his arms on top of the back of it, legs splayed as he opens his mouth to say something, but is cut short from Tadashi’s continued moping, his face red as he finally lifts his face up.

“You know that guy? The scary--I mean,  _ weird _ guy with the glasses? Kei?” Shoyo grimaces at this, ever the easy one to read, nodding with a knot of confusion now across his face. “Well, say hello to my new Chemistry partner!” Tadashi’s voice is somewhat defeated now, spoken into the strap of his school bag as he motions to the paper ball he just threw to the trash can. “He wants me to go to his house today once we’re done here, to help with the project we  _ already  _ have.” 

“KEI? Want me to plan your funeral? Pick out your casket?” Tadashi looks at Shoyo with a glare that practically screamed  _ Shut up, shut up before I lose my mind more than I already have _ , but then notices that Shoyo was  _ serious _ , and that he, up until this point was so obnoxious to the fact that he’d have to sit in the same room as Kei, alone, for hours really, with nobody to hear him cry out for help if he needed to. 

_ (Now he was being dramatic.)  _

“I’m serious!” Shoyo’s eyes are big and full now as he continues to warn Tadashi, sitting up in the chair he was propped up on. “I’ve heard scary things about him! Want me to lend you pepper spray or something? My mom alwa--” “I don’t  _ need  _ pepper spray, Shoyo! I  _ need  _ a new Chemistry partner or I'll fail!” Another huff and a glance to the clock.

“He’s right, ‘dashi...you gotta be careful around him, I heard he got suspended last year.”

Amidst his moping, Tadashi seemed to forget that Kenma, his other closest friend, was beside him, quiet of course, but taking the conversation in just as much as Shoyo was, just not nearly as excitedly.

“Great. That makes me feel so much better, guys.” He’s defeated again, burying his face into the welcoming abyss that was his school bag, and as his nerves act up, Tadashi is toying with a loose pink strand that’s frayed from the hem of his pants, to which Kenma notices with a glance and sighs.

“You’ll be fine.” Kenma runs a hand through his hair, brown, overgrown roots tangled between his fingers as he sets his walkman down and pulls his headphones off, it wasn’t like he was listening to music anyways, he just wanted to be left  _ alone _ . “You’re gonna do most of the work anyways, right? So...technically you have the advantage here.”

If only Kenma’s presumptions were as solid as the same denim jacket he wore every day. An advantage? With Kei? Was he serious? Tadashi nearly whines in defeat, silently disagreeing with the two.

“Yeah! The advantage! Maybe you could boss him around or something!” 

“I think he wants to live, Shoyo.”

“But you just--”

Before Shoyo can finish his sentence, Kenma is yawning and putting his headphones back on, and Tadashi wonders, his head still buried against the comfort of his school bag, how he can be so calm.

Maybe if Tadashi manifested drama club lasting over an hour today, he could just  _ flunk _ going to Kei’s place.

* * *

“You  _ actually _ invited him here?” 

Kei couldn’t quite understand why, but Kuroo was as confused as he was  _ loud _ , and as Kei absentmindedly flicked through his backpack to retrieve his torn and until now, forgotten Chemistry book, he looks over to Kuroo and shrugs expectantly, almost as if to ask him why he  _ wouldn’t _ invite Tadashi over and make him do all of the work for him.

“Yeah? Why would I do it by myself? It’s basically a free pass.” Kei’s tone is about as dull as the grey paint that licked his walls, that was if you could even  _ see  _ the paint at all past the posters messily stuck to the wall with tape. Reds, blacks, Nirvana slogans and the occasional UFO photo with “I WANT TO BELIEVE” was  _ just  _ visible if Kei managed to draw his curtains that morning. 

“He’s going for Valedictorian y’know, and if that wasn’t bad enough, I've heard all kinds of things about him.” Blowing a bubble with his gum, Kuroo sits up on Kei’s bed that he’d previously thrown himself on, throwing a small, inflatable basketball into the hoop Kei had put on the back of his door at age twelve. Now, he mostly uses it to dump dirty laundry into his hamper he uses to block his door when his Mother comes home. 

_ ‘All kinds of things _ .’

As much as Kei didn’t care for pretty much  _ anybody’s  _ business, he’s intrigued to say the least. What if Tadashi had a concerning knife collection, or had a knack for over-analyzing situations? It said a lot that Kei couldn’t decide which of the two options was  _ worse _ .

“Huh? What kind of things?” It’s offhand, his question, though Kei looks to Kuroo with some form of curiosity, now toying with a guitar pick that he had  _ definitely  _ been too hard on during the summer whilst desperately trying to keep up with whatever cassette he had playing.

“You know that theatre kid Akira? The one who transferred before the end of last year?” Kei raises a brow in both further question and response, setting his guitar pick down on his bedside table that was  _ still _ littered with paper towels. “Well, apparently he transferred because he was getting bullied for being...ya’ know…” Kuuro clicks his tongue, and comedically so, flicks his wrist, to which Kei tuts and rolls his eyes. “So? They bullied a little gay boy out of school. What does  _ that _ have to do with Freckles?” Kuroo rolls his eyes too, gesturing as if to say  _ are you really that dense?  _

“They knew he was gay because he was caught  _ kissing _ freckles, holding his hand and shit, don’t know if it’s true though.” 

It wasn’t like Kei really  _ cared  _ about what way other people swung, all he knew was that PDA grossed him the hell out, especially when it was right beside his locker and he could practically  _ hear _ spit being swapped. He shudders at the thought alone, though looks at Kuroo once more, shrugging. 

“So?” Kuroo was about to respond, though was interrupted by the chime of the doorbell and Kei’s Mother hurriedly rushing to the front door, heels clicking followed by a shout. 

“KEI! YOU HAVE A VISITOR!” 

He sits up at that, rubbing at his eyes before groaning and grabbing his Chemistry book, pointing at the window as Kuroo follows. “Go, I don’t need you scaring him away with your rumors and god knows what else. I have a Chemistry project to ace.” 

After much protest, Kuroo manages to get out through Kei’s window, climbing down the trellis at the back, to which Kei throws his backpack down and closes his window after, throwing him a point of his middle finger and a laugh.

* * *

Surprisingly, Kei had a nice house, and although smaller, it could  _ easily _ pass as a McMansion, questionable exterior and all, cables hanging from pretty much anywhere. Tadashi didn’t know why he was expecting a scary lawn with a rabid dog in it, maybe a few bones the dog got tired of too, but when he was greeted with a neatly mowed lawn and a business-y looking woman that he would later find out was Kei’s  _ Mother _ , holding a fluffy, white bichon frise and smiling, he was taken aback, in a  _ good way _ of course. 

It settled his nerves at least, if that even helped at this point.

Tadashi started out by taking his time to get to Kei’s place, hoping it would somehow make the ordeal all the less scarier, but then convinced himself that if he was  _ too  _ late, Kei would take it as an offense and give him a swirly.

That’s why, even as he’s stopped himself in his tracks, he’s panting slightly from practically running there, and as Kei’s Mother laughs lightly in what Tadashi hopes was friendliness, he’s back to sweating once he sees Kei make his way down the stairs, that same condescending smirk on his face.

“Need a hand?” Kei had the least helpful tone  _ ever, _ Tadashi decides, holding one of the two bags out that were currently weighing him down shakily, wordlessly; and in that silence the sound of heels clicking and the door shutting was deafening. 

“Thanks…” Tadashi manges to get out, both hands now holding onto his backpack straps, gripping it with nervous force. “I’m uh...sorry if I took a while to get here...got lost and all that?” Kei wonders if Tadashi is as convinced of his own lies as he lets on,  _ fully  _ aware that the latter lived only a block away, but he shrugs, holding the shorter's bag over his shoulder and motioning to the stairs. “It’s fine.” Tadashi follows him up the stairs, noting how fancy everything was from the pure white staircase to the chandelier that had to be as big as an ice cream van. “You’re lucky I let my genius rest, though, I would’ve started without you.” Tadashi scoffs at his comment, though panic washes over his face once he notices what he  _ just  _ did and  _ who _ he did it to.

Thankfully, the scoff is drowned out by the sound of Kei lightly kicking his door open, and it’s then and there that Tadashi decides that money can’t hide  _ everything _ . If anything, it was the complete opposite of his own bedroom, everything but light, and the slight smell of sweat (Or pot.) makes him grimace as he stands in the doorway, settling his bag down neatly beside the one Kei previously threw to the floor. 

It was going to be a  _ long _ study session.

After gathering their supplies, most of them Tadashi’s save Kei’s Chemistry book, they settle themselves on Kei’s checkered bed sheets, legs crossed, copy books in their laps, pencil cases open, seeing as there was no desk to use, that, or it was buried in the countless band shirts the taller had messily thrown around. 

“So...were you paying attention? Do you know what the periodic table consists of? Even the basics?” Tadashi is met with a roll of Kei’s eyes and a shrug as he tilts his head to the side, his former nervousness now slowly fading away an hour in as he realized that Kei wasn’t that scary...just  _ meh _ , and though that threw him off more than anything, it didn’t  _ terrify  _ him. Now, he’s comfortable enough to speak to the taller in a steady voice, for academics and passing Chemistry was more of a priority to him than anything else.

Their project mostly consisted of periodic properties and trends, something that Tadashi had a natural  _ knack _ for remembering, but Kei  _ obviously  _ didn’t, and it was  _ obvious  _ by the way he was boredly looking anywhere else but the book between the two that Tadashi had been highlighting and underlining, busy adding his own notes. 

“No, no, and uh, lemme think? No.” Kei beams at that last ‘no’, though it disappears quickly as he returns to thinking about just how much he hated anything to do with high school, or at least that was what he was putting off as he catches Tadashi sighing and writing something down, because he didn’t exactly want Tadashi to know that he was  _ thinking _ about the fact that his new study buddy was  _ possibly  _ gay, and that, in a way, didn’t sit  _ neutral  _ with Kei, and it was  _ annoying _ , because why would he have any reason to feel anything but indifferent about it? 

“Can you try and find chapter five for me? I mean-- if that’s okay--” 

Pulled from his thoughts, yet again, Kei blinks and looks in Tadashi’s direction, only now noticing just how  _ prominent  _ the freckles across his cheeks were, and why the nickname he gave him was fitting to this day. “Uh, yeah.” Clearing his throat, Kei reaches for the book and turns pages in chunks, not quite understanding or noticing that he was going the  _ wrong  _ way, and actually on his way to chapter ten instead of five. “Uh--no, it’s this way.” Tadashi laughs softly as he sets his pen down, and though Kei didn’t really  _ care _ for the other’s comfort, it makes the atmosphere in his stuffy bedroom all the more calmer, which in theory, was less hassle for him to deal with. 

_ Kei wasn’t a monster after all _ .

“You need a pen? You haven’t written a single thing..” Although Tadashi is fully aware of just how disinterested Kei was in all things studying as he’s flicking to chapter five, he’s holding his pen out in his direction, his other hand busy underlining another paragraph about a bohr diagram once chapter five was finally located.  _ Was he ambidextrous? What couldn’t he do?  _

Wordlessly, or well, more with a displeased grunt, Kei takes the pen and sighs, clicking it a few times. “That’s because I can tell you a hundred other things I'd rather be doing right now than working on a Chemistry project, Freckles.” 

_ Well, that much was obvious.  _

As Tadashi ignores the name given to him he looks over to Kei, shrugging, opening a pink highlighter. “Guess you’ll have to deal with it.” 

He doesn’t know where his newfound confidence came from, maybe it was from over-exhaustion, that, or his brain short circuiting from his nerves, but either way, it takes Kei by surprise as he’s watching him, highlighter cap in his mouth and all, brows  _ still  _ knitted in concentration. 

“Whatever. It’s kinda scary y’know, how you like doing this bullshit.” Instead of actually writing something productive, Kei starts to doodle several ‘S’ symbols, yin yang’s and his attempt at the Nirvana logo, the occasional UFO, too. “It’s like you don’t have an off button, are you sure you’re not a robot?” Although Kei’s tone is as deadpan as usual, the light smile across his lips is indicator enough for Tadashi to know that he was joking, or even, attempting to have a  _ somewhat _ nice conversation with him.

“I just want to graduate with no regrets, is that so bad?” 

Kei wants to laugh out loud at how  _ hypocritical  _ Tadashi’s statement was. How was he supposed to  _ not  _ regret high school if he wasted it away on homework and after school studies? Where was the fun in that? It wasn’t like Kei wanted to fuck around in the gym toilets after school with some girl he didn’t know, but hiding under the bleachers every now and then and cutting class wasn’t  _ all  _ that bad, it was fun, actually.

“How can you do that if you’re not doing anything but kissing ass all day.” It wasn’t a question as much as it was a statement, and as Tadashi was about to actually respond to the _ high and mighty  _ Kei about succeeding academically, he’s cut short by the shrill sound of his phone ringing, and Kei could swear he caught Tadashi’s facade changing back to it’s previous terrified state, that’s if he admitted he was looking to begin with.

“Sorry, I gotta take this. At least  _ pretend _ to look at the notes I made.” Exasperated as his tone is, Tadashi hurriedly leaves the room, knocking a couple of pens over in his tracks. 

_ As if _ , Kei thinks to himself, and though he does briefly look over to the monstrous amounts of notes Tadashi had taken, he decides to leave it at that and fish in his pocket for a cigarette. 

His mother would  _ kill  _ him if she smelled tobacco, which is why he’s currently half way out of the window, risking his life for a single drag of a cigarette as he’s lighting it, that’s until he’s interrupted by the sound of Tadashi’s voice, and with the bathroom window open beside Kei’s bedroom it’s not surprising that he can hear him from where he is.

“No! I didn’t--Okay, fine--” A heavy sigh.

“Please don’t-- It wasn’t even my fault!” A raise of Kei’s eyebrows and a pause in taking a drag.

“I know...i’ll go home, i’m sorry.”

Quickly, Kei takes one last drag of his cigarette before throwing it to the garden below his window. It's a pity he doesn’t have mouthwash, because the smell of tobacco off of his breath was  _ excessive _ . 

“I gotta go, i’m sorry,” Tadashi is somewhat heavy as he comes back into the abyss that was Kei’s bedroom, and though he can  _ definitely  _ pick up on the scent of a cigarette it doesn’t seem to faze him as he’s gathering his school supplies, carelessly shoving them into his bag. “My foster parents want me home, I forgot I have curfew still…” Tadashi lets out a soft laugh, scratching behind his head, but his underlying tone of defeat is enough to make Kei at  _ least  _ hold Tadashi’s other school bag out to him silently, and as Tadashi takes it out of his hold their hands brush together. “Thanks.” Making his way to the stairs, Kei follows him, and he kinda feels like a  _ fucking idiot _ as he’s dumbly following the shorter, now standing at the door as Tadashi slips his shoes back on. 

“Uh, we’re not finished though?” Kei manages to get out, watching as the shorter ties his laces, shoving his own hand into his pocket. “Ah, yeah...let’s figure something out at school tomorrow?” Opening the door, Kei nods, and he doesn’t really bother to say anything else since Tadashi  _ clearly  _ had somewhere to be, and holding him up didn’t feel like the right thing to do right now. 

“Thanks for letting me catch up.” A smile, and as Kei silently watches Tadashi in response, his figure slowly gets smaller as the shorter waves in goodbye, walking that  _ one  _ block away home.

Kei is left there, confused, thankful, and with Tadashi’s pen still in his hand. 

  
  


**_April 1996_ **

Sometimes it was the smell of chlorine, sometimes it was the feeling of the pool tiles under your bare feet, and sometimes it was the feeling of an arm around your shoulder. Maybe, it was the feeling of someone staring back at you seconds later, or the feeling of butterflies in your stomach that just  _ wouldn’t  _ stop. 

Inter high was like any other high school in Virginia state, red brick building, two levels high, two flags outside with the American flag and school crest to match, but not everybody was like every other student in the school, at least to Tadashi. 

Of course, people stood out for their own reasons, whether it was what they decided to wear or whatever car they had the luck to drive into the parking lot that morning that was filled to the brim with students, couples, homework from the night before being hurriedly done on a car hood or a soccer ball being thrown between laughs, but to Tadashi, Akira Kunimi stood out for all of the opposite reasons. 

Akira stood out with how he  _ held _ Tadashi, how he ran his fingers through his hair, seemed to make every ounce of stress disappear with words alone, how he faintly smelled of chlorine after swimming practice and met him in the boys changing room afterwards, all to share an embrace and the tender press of lips against his own. 

It happened so fast, how mutual feelings were shared in secrecy and classroom glances, how he could be so open to the fact of being with someone much like himself, how utters of love were whispered and oh so  _ sure _ at the ripe age of sixteen. Although it didn’t make any sense to either of them, the feeling made sense more than enough, and made up for the fact that maybe, whilst incredibly  _ smitten  _ with one another, it would come to an abrupt and fatal stop sooner rather than later.

**_May 1996_ **

They were sure nobody had seen them. 

It was a surprisingly groggy and rainy day, and though both Tadashi and Akira weren’t fond of skipping class for the bleachers, it seemed that the rain would scare anybody away, especially at lunch time, from following them to their own serene corner of Virginian  _ paradise _ at the time. 

The hold he’s in is gentle, and Tadashi decides to call it home, for the reality of home was so much more grim than what he replaced it with; it was silent and calm, and it still smelled a little like chlorine, but it was better than alcohol and the atmosphere of  _ sheer _ disappointment.

He’s smiling, smiling into a tender act of affection with his eyes fluttering shut, and then, just then, he decides that heaven really was a place on earth. 

But the descent to hell was quick, and it was loud, and it was terrifying and Tadashi couldn’t  _ feel  _ his face, or much less any  _ other  _ part of his body as he heard the holler of the hockey team, shouts of ‘F*G!’ being thrown at them as they ran, backpacks damp with rain.

They were caught red handed with nobody else to blame but themselves. 

**_June 1996_ **

It was nearing the end of the school year, and no matter how many names Tadashi was called or how many looks he was thrown or how many swirlies and locker pranks he fell a victim to,  _ nothing  _ felt worse than being in the principal's office with his foster parents judging glances paired with Akira’s parents.

They never wanted it to end like this, they weren’t even  _ sure _ if they wanted  _ this _ to be  _ anything _ , but they were outed, and they were scared, and although they only sat a chair’s distance apart, they were further away than anytime before.

It ended with tears, it ended with a hug from which Tadashi was forcibly pulled away from and shoved into the back of his Dad’s car. ‘ _ You don’t talk about it, you hear me? _ ’ A nod, and a sniffle that was met with a raised voice. ‘ _ A disgrace to this family. That’s all you are _ .’

Akira is gone, Tadashi is sent to his room and his phone is taken away from him along with his newfound home.

A  _ disgrace _ . That’s all you are.

* * *

Kei didn’t get much sleep that night.

Most of his night was spent tossing and turning in bed because it was  _ too fucking hot _ , and for some reason, whenever he needed to sleep he just  _ couldn’t _ , and no amount of rubbing his temples or removal of his pants could help; he ultimately decides that he’s  _ broken _ .

Broken or not, he’s still at school the next day, surprisingly so, sporting bags under his eyes that he hides as he’s resting his head between his folded arms on the sticky cafeteria table.

“Study date that rough?” Tobio nudges Kei with his elbow, and Kei holds his middle finger up in response, lifting his head up and resting his chin on the palm of his hand. “Shut up. He did most of the work like I thought he would.” Kuroo, on the other side of the table, slides a juice box in Kei’s direction, a dumb smirk on his face, almost like he was trying to say  _ I told you so _ without opening his mouth.

“It was a fucking bore-fest,” Kei continues, and Kuroo quirks a brow before laughing, shooting Tobio an all knowing glance. “We told you, should’ve just flunked it and given the kid the book.” Kei rolls his eyes then, somewhat forcibly shoving the plastic straw into the carton. “Shut the fuck up,” He takes a loud gulp of juice, scratching the back of his head in the meantime. “He kinda made it easy until he left out of nowhere, looked pretty scared.” 

It was no lie that Kei was a  _ little  _ concerned for Tadashi once he left him with a science project to clean up. From the way his voice wavered in a high pitch to how he left faster than he’d seen half of the student body move during a pep rally, it left him  _ confused _ more than anything, but he wasn’t about to play baby sitter, nor press for questions about something he frankly didn’t care much about.

“Scared? It’s because he was in the room with you, dumbass.” Kuroo breaks Kei’s thoughts with an ugly chuckle. “Probably wanted to run for the hills, wouldn’t blame him.” Tobio chimes in, to which Kuroo raises his hand for a high five and a yell of sorts, resulting in Kei kicking Kuroo’s kneecap from under the table. 

“Fuck off man,” Kei’s laughing, unwinding his fruit roll up and shoving the whole thing into his mouth at once, talking although his mouth is still full of the sticky concoction. “For your information, he actually spoke to me without stuttering, his phone was what made him look like he saw a ghost.” 

“Probably his foster parents, I heard they’re rough.” Kuroo manages to say as he’s rubbing his previously kicked knee with an ‘ _ Ow! _ ’

For someone who was friends with Kei, Kuroo  _ sure _ did know a lot about everyone in the student body, that was probably because he was the most approachable out of the three and  _ actually _ had an ounce of care for student drama. At times, Kuroo was shocked at just how much Kei  _ didn’t _ know, said he lived under a rock as big as the Titanic. 

“Rough?” Again, with the one liner questions.

Kuroo shrugs, relaxing against the so-called comfort of the cafeteria seats, throwing a piece of popcorn into his mouth. “Jus’ heard they were rough on Freckles for getting Akira expelled.” Tobio nods and chimes in as Kei raises a brow, his fruit roll gone and juice box half empty. 

“Mhm, one of the seniors last year  _ swore _ they saw his Dad hit him after it was decided. Ouch.”

Amidst the heavy chatter of the cafeteria, cheerleader practice screams, soccer players throwing balls, nerds writing at their desks instead of eating and the unwavering smell of mustard, Kei wonders if the fact that Tadashi  _ was _ actually gay was really a big deal. 

He decides it isn’t.

* * *

If being  _ dead tired _ had an image in the dictionary, it would be a photo of Kei yawning like he is sitting on the toilet avoiding third period Drama, a smoke in his mouth and black marker pressed against the bathroom stall doodling god knows what.

Drama was  _ ass _ , and it was also the easiest class to flunk. 

Sighing, Kei takes a last drag of his cigarette and throws it out the window above the bathroom stall he’s situated himself in, now reaching for his backpack to roll another cigarette for Kuroo who  _ swore  _ he’d be there five minutes ago. 

_ Dickhead _ , Kei thinks to himself, licking the paper shut as soon as he’s done rolling and putting it behind his ear.

“Get his arms, man-- OW--”

“Please, I didn’t even DO ANYTHING--”

“Grab his head, dude--” The opening of the bathroom stall across the room.

Kei snickers to himself realizing that another  _ poor soul  _ was going to fall victim to the soccer team’s daily swirlies, now drawing a thick black line of marker around his thumb. 

“I’ll give you my lunch money-- JUST STOP--” 

Oh. 

It definitely caught him off guard, how the voice calling out was  _ Freckles  _ and not some swimming team guy who probably deserved it, and what catches him off guard all the more was how his body moves quickly to open the stall door, and he makes sure it slams against the interior walls. 

The sight of Tadashi being held by both his arms and his head by two soccer team guys, face mere centimeters from the toilet bowl, shoulder colliding with the taller guy who was holding him still, though half way on the floor, wasn’t exactly one that sat well with Kei. 

Again, Kei  _ definitely  _ wasn’t a babysitter for anyone, though he swears that maybe he just got fucking  _ possessed  _ by some entity as he speaks,  _ stands up _ for Tadashi while the latter couldn’t; quite literally. 

“It’s really taking two of you to swirly a little gay boy?” A deadpan comment and adjustment of his glasses, a roll of his eyes too if one looked hard enough. 

“Fuck off, Kei.” A grunt in what Kei assumed was agreement from the shorter of the jocks with what the taller said. 

“I don’t think I will.” The bathroom stall door he just slammed open is creaking as it slowly closes again behind him, and only now Kei catches Tadashi’s both shocked and equally scared facade, head now lifted from the toilet bowl enough so he can catch the blood now dripping from his nose, and though it wasn’t much, it was obvious he got a right hook to his nose. 

“Do you know how easy it would be for me to say I caught one of you in here fucking Freckles?” He motions to Tadashi’s heaped form, a condescending smirk now on his face that was the complete opposite of the jocks that instead, was currently painted with newfound horror.

“Didn’t think so.” Kei takes advantage of their silence, opening the bathroom stall door fully for the two as they slowly let go of Tadashi, to which the shorter grabs the stall walls, face twisted in what seemed to be terror, his bottom lip quivering now that their backs were turned, back of his hand stained with blood from his own nose as he wipes it. 

“Now, I suggest you get out, unless you wanna be labelled a bender for the rest of the year.”

A moment of silence, a glance shared between the two. 

“Whatever man.” One of them pipes up, making their way out of the bathroom, face red with what Kei assumed was anger, the other following after with a punch to the bathroom wall and a glare back at Tadashi now knelt on the dirty bathroom tiles. 

They remain silent for a moment, only a brief glance shared as Tadashi sniffs, to which, awkwardly, Kei reaches for a paper towel and hands it to the shorter one only when he’s sure the other’s have left. Tadashi wipes his nose, thankful that the blood coming out of his nose wasn’t  _ too  _ out of control, or more or less, something he wasn’t  _ used  _ to. 

“U-Uhm…I...” He’s still kneeling on the floor as he stutters, mostly due to shock at both the situation and someone  _ actually  _ intervening, and that someone being his new study buddy.

“It’s fine.” Kei breaks his stuttering, grabbing the cigarette behind his ear and shoving it into his pocket. “You want me to uh...take you to the nurses office?” He  _ still _ wasn’t quite sure why he helped Tadashi, but he  _ did _ , and he had to stick with it even as unsettling and unfamiliar it was to him. Besides, Kuroo had  _ obviously _ dipped from meeting up, and avoiding Drama class by going to the nurses office, even if it smelled like anti-bacterial wipes and gave him a headache, was far more appealing to him right now.

“You don’t have to.” Well, at least Freckles wasn’t stuttering anymore.

In fact, Tadashi is standing up now, wiping his green pants down before he grasps at his backpack with nervous force.

Kei shrugs, slipping his backpack on. “I’ll walk you at least, come on.” 

As he motions to the door, Tadashi throws his dirtied paper towel into the trash.


	3. Magnets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 is currently under co and will be up before the end of the week, I hope you're all enjoying this fic so far.

**Chapter 3: Magnets**

Tadashi couldn’t lie, it all felt a little  _ pathetic _ . 

Although he was used to it, being called every name to do with his sexual orientation under the sun didn’t get any easier, neither did being ganged up on by a group of guys that were definitely taller than him and had the urge to punch him across the jaw for simply  _ breathing _ , existing, but that was the reality of Inter High for Tadashi, nothing more, nothing less.

What felt even  _ more  _ pathetic right now, was that Kei had to see the very same predicament he got himself into with his own eyes, and for some reason unknown to Tadashi, he’s  _ angry _ , angry that Kei had to use his sexuality as a form of defense, to be left alone in his own sweat, tears and blood dripping down his nose. 

It wasn’t like Tadashi would actually say that out loud though, he’d had enough punches and names thrown at him for today.

“Um...you can leave me here.” They’re outside the nurses office now, Tadashi a little behind Kei, the hallways silent since they made their way there amidst the quiet chatter of classes on the way and janitors cleaning the floors while they had the chance. 

It’s funny, he feels like he owes Kei something, considering that he  _ just  _ saved him from ounces of embarrassment and coming up with an excuse for his could-have-been wet hair, but Kei doesn’t seem to exactly  _ want _ anything from Tadashi, or at least it looks like that, his eyebrows noticeably unknitted and glasses slightly down his nose;  _ unfazed  _ was the word.

Kei watches as Tadashi plays with his fingers, and he guesses it’s nerves as he shrugs, leaning against the wall outside of the nurses office that had a ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign put up in the window. “Right...you want me to tell Ms.Talks-A-Lot that you’ll be late?” It wasn’t like Kei would  _ actually  _ be on time, but he guesses that punctuality is  _ important _ to Tadashi, and after the rough day he’s already had he decides to stretch his niceness just a little further. 

Tadashi blinks, his gaze that was elsewhere momentarily lifting to meet Kei’s briefly, and for once the idea of Chemistry makes him somewhat  _ dread  _ it, seeing as the two guys that just tried to swirly him were in the exact same class. He gulps, wiping his nose with his sleeve, catching a bit of blood before slipping his backpack off and setting it on the floor beside him. 

“Yeah, that’d be--”

“TADASHI?!” 

In bright greens and blues, Shoyo is yelling as soon as he sees the cowardly bundle called his best friend, seemingly in distress, and his eyebrows are knitted in frustration as he hurriedly makes his way to Tadashi, big and loud steps accompanied by Kenma’s slow figure sluggishly and somewhat uninterestedly walking alongside him.

“GET AWAY FROM HIM! WHAT ARE YOU? SOME KINDA  _ BULLY _ ?”

_ Jeez, he thinks he’s pretty tough for such a short guy.  _ Kei thinks to himself, though he’s caught off guard as Shoyo’s shouting is clearly directed to  _ him _ , and that much is obvious as he’s making his way to Kei, hand curled into a fist and into the air, his expression aggressive as Kei meets it with an eyebrow quirked up in question and a hand curled up in his pocket into a fist shape in return.

“N-No! Shoyo! It’s not like that--” Tadashi is quick to step in front of Kei, hands up and waving in a defensive manner. After all, Kei didn’t  _ have  _ to help him, but he  _ did _ , and the last thing Tadashi wants to do is throw that back at him and sour the situation completely.

“Huh?” Shoyo stops in his tracks, skidding on his heels, to which Kenma grabs the front of his overalls to stop him from falling. “You’re being embarrassing…” Kenma whispers as he leans in to Shoyo, Tadashi picks up on it and shoots Shoyo an all knowing glance of  _ please, please shut up _ , almost as if to stop Kei from hearing him despite how naturally loud things were when the shorter was around. Shoyo flushes at this, stepping back a little with his hands still raised, only now he’s smiling, laughing nervously even.

“Haha...sorry...we’ll just wait here…” 

Tadashi screws his eyes shut in embarrassment, stepping back from in front of Kei to look at him with an apologetic smile after a few seconds, a hand scratching the back of his head. “Thanks for everything, I think i’ll be okay with these two here...” 

Kei finds it too  _ amusing _ , probably because Tadashi was still trying to be the people pleaser person he was with dried blood under his nose and a bruise that was slowly starting to show on his lower cheek; freckles still as obvious as ever. 

Shrugging yet again, Kei turns in his tracks. “Cool, I’ll do that for you or something,” Referring to the Chemistry class he’d  _ definitely _ be late to, he’s already making his way back to the bathrooms in hopes Kuroo would  _ actually _ be there, but in reality he’s attempting to put space between the two because it was already  _ too _ uncomfortable with Shoyo there for his own liking. 

His tone continues to be as nonchalant as before, and he waves blindly backwards, his back to the three. “See ya’.” 

“Yeah, uh...bye…” Tadashi offers his hand in return weakly, all knowing that Kei  _ wouldn’t _ see it with his back turned to them, and as his figure gets smaller in the hallway, Shoyo and Kenma finally make it to Tadashi’s side, Shoyo’s expression as all telling as ever, ‘ _ Come on, tell me what happened!’ _ practically written on his face, meanwhile Kenma didn’t seem to care  _ that _ much, after all he was happy enough with knowing that his friend was in one piece, the drama that came along with it wasn’t nearly as important. 

“You gonna explain what just happened?” Impatiently, Shoyo bounces on the balls of his feet, and as much as he attempts to grab Tadashi’s attention, it’s completely taken by Kei’s figure that continues to get smaller with every step he takes away, Shoyo’s voice completely drowned out by his own thoughts; if that was even possible. 

He’s in utter confusion, what in the  _ world _ possessed a guy like Kei to help a guy like Tadashi? Tadashi was  _ freckles _ , and a robot with a penchant for everything academics, the one thing that Kei had made  _ clear _ he had a distaste for at their study session. Plus, he’d never really had  _ anybody  _ intervene with his regular swirlies and name calling. 

Apart from Shoyo and Kenma, nobody really  _ wanted  _ to associate themselves with the school’s resident gay kid, maybe save the cheerleading squad. 

Blinking, Tadashi looks away from Kei, to the nurse’s office and then to both Shoyo and Kenma. Taking hold of Tadashi’s backpack, Kenma silently hands it to him, his eyes saying ‘ _ I know. _ ’ silently, to which Tadashi takes his bag and finally knocks on the nurse’s office, Kei’s figure now unable to see.

“I don’t... _ know _ what happened.”

* * *

Chemistry was a bore, though that was  _ nothing _ new.

Although he was late, Kei still did the decent thing and told their teacher how and why Tadashi possibly wouldn’t show up, well, as much of the story that wouldn’t get him a glare. It’s then that Kei realizes that Chemistry with or without Tadashi beside him was pretty much the same; a snooze-fest, and that it didn’t matter if Tadashi was beside him avoiding eye contact or not, it was just  _ boring _ .

He’s staring at the clock after messily taking down notes, sentences barely making any sense as he puts in the minimum effort, and the only noise breaking the silence of the science lab is the annoying clicking of pens from an array of tired and restless students itching to go home; Kei being one of them with the pen Tadashi gave him yesterday afternoon at his disposal. 

It feels like a fucking fortnight until class is over, and after the comments about the third row of the periodic table goes in one of his ears and out of the other, the bell  _ finally _ decides to ring, ending the now unbearable day of high school, and it was only  _ day fucking two _ . 

Making his way to his locker with a loud, open mouthed yawn, Kei jolts in surprise once he gets a slap to the back and a holler right beside his ear. Kuroo  _ finally _ decided to show up.

“What the fuck? Where were you? I told you to meet me in the bathrooms you  _ dickhead _ .” An aggravated voice and somewhat seething tone sounds from Kei as he goes ahead with opening his locker, slipping his backpack off to take his books out amidst the loud and headache-inducing hallway; ignoring Kuroo’s shit eating and teasing grin. 

“Sorry man, got caught up with somethin’, you know how it is.” 

_ No, I don’t _ . Kei thinks to himself, shaking his head and shoving the large pile of books in his arms into his locker with little to no finesse. “Looks like ya’ got mail.” With his arm still around Kei’s shoulder, Kuroo is motioning towards the torn out piece of paper that’s nearly slipping out of his locker, and once Kei manages to take his skateboard out and settle it between himself and the line of lockers he picks it up, Kuroo’s loud chewing of bubblegum in his left ear, reading it alongside Kei.

_ Sorry about earlier, we still have to get that project done, meet me outside the school gates after class. _

_ Don’t be late, _

_ Tadashi _

Kuroo pops the bubble of gum he just made as if on queue, loudly too. “Got another study date? Rough.” 

Kei mentally bangs his head off of his locker. The last thing he wanted to do was have  _ consecutive  _ days studying, he needed to do other things, like  _ rest his genius _ and scrape his knees from falling at the skatepark. There was a small part of him that felt  _ bad _ for Freckles though, wanted to make him feel at least a  _ little  _ better from what happened earlier, he just didn’t know  _ why _ .

“What’s he sorry for? Did he try to kiss you?” 

“Shut up, man, that’s not funny.”

“Who tried to kiss who?” Tobio, unexpectedly chimes in out of nowhere, propped up on his skateboard after riding it down the hallway that’s crowd was now diminishing in size as the seconds passed.

Kei groans, shaking his head, “Nobody is trying to kiss  _ anybody _ ,” Closing his locker shut with a bit of force, Kei crumples the note up and shoves it into his pocket. “I just stopped those soccer idiots from giving him a swirly, they were interrupting my  _ me  _ time or whatever.”

“ _ Such a hero _ .” Tobio jokes in a sing-song voice, catching up with whatever conversation Kuroo and Kei were having pretty easily as Kuroo laughs alongside him, to which they’re both met with Kei throwing up his middle finger. (Something that definitely was a form of communication to him.)

“I’ll meet you guys at the park after, or not,” Sighing, Kei lays his skateboard flat against the hallway floors, stepping onto it, that’s until Kuroo grabs his arm with a shake of his head. 

“I was  _ just  _ kidding, lemme meet the guy, maybe I can get some free lessons outta him.” 

“That’s a good idea, man...yeah, lemme come too.”

Kei wasn’t sure if that really  _ was _ a good idea considering how shaken up Tadashi was with his company alone, nevermind two other guys to join, one of them being Kuroo who had a lot to say about him without actually  _ knowing _ him. But, then again, Kei didn’t really  _ care _ at the end of the day, and with that he shrugs, shaking his arm to free himself of Kuroo’s grip. 

“Whatever, but if you scare him away? That Chemistry project is on both of you.”

* * *

Tadashi thought it was risky to leave Kei a locker note to begin with.

Would he react badly? Would he even  _ notice _ it? Would he ignore it and leave him hanging?

As much as all of those possibilities had Tadashi somewhat scared again,  _ nothing _ could prepare him for the sight he was met with outside the school gates when he finally saw Kei, skateboard and all, but with two other  _ tall  _ and  _ scary  _ guys.

Kenma, currently standing beside Tadashi, headphones sitting around his neck and a streak of black paint across his cheek, leans in to whisper to Tadashi upon seeing the three, tapping his shoulder as he does. “Since when did you invite those guys?” 

With a noticeably shaken shrug, Tadashi blinks as he looks to Kenma in silent response, he does however, answer Kei’s raise of his hand in a silent hello, to which he raises his hand too, though Tadashi and Kenma’s closeness is being observed by Kuroo, who breaks the silence between steps and skateboards against pavement. 

“You two  _ busy  _ or somethin’? Sorry, our bad.” Laughing at his own suggestive comment, a bump of fist with Tobio who snickers in chorus, Kenma rolls his eyes with enough effort that it was definitely noticeable, linking an arm with Tadashi who still hadn’t said a word, and was instead, looking to Kei with a rather unreadable expression. 

“If two guys being so close together makes you  _ so  _ uncomfortable, maybe you’re closeted or something,” Tadashi widens his eyes at Kenma’s sudden words, looking aside to him as he’s seemingly unfazed, though that was what  _ exactly  _ Kenma was most of the time. “It’s weird, you should get it checked out some time.” Looking down to his scuffed converse and back up to Kuroo, Kenma wastes no time in directing his words directly in Kuroo’s direction, locking eye contact with him despite their obvious difference in height, clicking his tongue.

“Well-- Uh--”

“TADAAASHIIIIII! KENMAAAAAAA! SORRY I’M LAAAAAAAATE!” 

Shoyo was a  _ professional  _ at interrupting conversations, Tadashi thinks to himself, currently flushing in embarrassment as he turns to Shoyo, to which he’s met with a cute, apologetic, bright smile and a wave of his right hand. 

Running over to them, Shoyo in his bright blues and greens stops with a heavy pant right in the middle of the two divided groups, now bent over with his hands on his thighs in what they  _ all  _ assume was exhaustion. “I thought you only invited that scary guy with the glasses..?” With no filter, Shoyo points to Kei who’s now blinking in confusion, and then to Tadashi who mentally face palms.

“Yeah, uh...about that,” Kei  _ finally  _ speaks, and he leans down to pick his skateboard up, holding it under his arm as he motions to Kuroo and Tobio who are currently  _ staring  _ at Shoyo,  _ who knew someone could be so colorful? _ “We kinda had plans, guess I forgot about our project?” Tadashi raises his arms at that in what was second nature to him now, to apologize. “That’s alright! We can just do it tomorrow..? We were gonna go to the library anyways...” He looks to Kenma who’s still attached to his arm, to which Kenma nods and mentally tells Tadashi to  _ calm down _ . 

“Nah, wait a sec! They could just come to the skate park with us!” Tobio chimes in, because he really  _ did  _ want to take the chance to ask one of the shorter three for help with his upcoming Biology exam, and though Kei was obviously taken aback by the proposal, Kuroo is nodding and chiming in too. “Yeah, man! Any of you take Art class? I’m so fucking over the homework we got, don’t know why I took the class to begin with.” 

Kenma sighs in what seems to be defeat, silently agreeing with Kuroo’s words, nudging Tadashi in the side, and Shoyo jumps rather excitedly at the mention of a skatepark, his skates currently gathering dust in his backpack.

_ What are we? The fucking Brady Bunch? _ Kei thinks to himself, rolling his eyes and shrugging. 

“Whatever, I’m gonna go skate.” Stepping back onto his skateboard, he’s about to take off until Kenma ultimately decides to push Tadashi forward towards the taller who was  _ desperately  _ trying to put distance between them all, stopping Kei in his tracks, to which Tadashi nervously stammers. 

“You...you wouldn’t mind getting more work done, would you? I kinda need to get this project off of my back…” He’s looking down, now fully looking at Kei’s skateboard that he stopped, much to his own protest. “Yeah, we can do a little of it if you  _ really _ want to,” Kei sighs, though when Tadashi looks up he’s met with what he can only  _ presume _ is Kei’s version of a smile. “You’ll have to deal with these guys though, sure you can handle it?” Tadashi for the first time that day manages to laugh, and even though it’s light and leaves quickly, Kei is somewhat thankful for it considering the day he knew Tadashi had. 

Being nice was something he rarely indulged in, but he still did it nonetheless. 

With Kei and Tadashi now walking side by side, Kuroo, Tobio, Kenma and Shoyo are behind them, being as loud as  _ ever  _ save Kenma, talking everything that was introductions of themselves and whatever classes each one of them have followed with excited cheers of  _ ‘Me too!’  _ and  _ ‘Why haven’t I ever seen you before, then?’ _

Although Tadashi and Kei  _ are  _ walking alongside each other, they’re not talking much at all, for Tadashi was far too nervous and Kei was simply  _ Kei _ , only primarily interested in the skate park and then, interested in whatever Tadashi had to say about Chemistry after.

“Do you skate a lot?” Kei looks at Tadashi with a look of ‘ _ really?’ _ , but then notices that he’s  _ serious _ and was actually asking Kei about something other than finding chapter five and underlining sentences he knew nothing about. “Uh, yeah. I started skating in freshman year,” He scratches behind his ear, to which Tadashi looks up to him with a curious glance. “I wanted to do something-- anything that wasn’t homework, found my brother’s old skateboard and it went downhill from there.” They both laugh somewhat awkwardly at what was Kei’s attempt at humor, Tadashi holding onto his backpack straps lightly. “That’s cool, you must be really good at it, hm? I wish I got into something that was  _ relatively  _ sporty.” With a sigh, Tadashi scratches behind his head, looking down to watch how both his and Kei’s steps were now in sync with one another. 

“Aren’t you good at literally everything though?”

Tadashi hums at that in thought, running a hand through his hair, and Kei notices that same strand that sticks up no matter what. 

“I never really thought of it that way? I just...try to pass class.” A light laugh and a glance back up to Kei. Kei doesn’t fully understand it, nor does he  _ really want  _ to. “Suppose that’s true.”

It was a surprise really, that right now  _ both  _ of their friends decided to hang out and supposedly think it was an okay thing to do, but in reality, things like this  _ didn’t _ happen to people like Tadashi, they were outcast until the final day of senior year, he got the Valedictorian role he wanted, had maybe thirty minutes of happiness at senior prom with his two friends, and then, went to college, a fresh start, high school behind him.

Going to the skatepark with the school’s resident  _ scary _ pothead skaters didn’t exactly fit into Tadashi’s expectations all that well, but it was better than going home with wet hair from the school’s toilet bowl and getting told you deserved it. 

The smell of pot and tobacco was an easy trade, Tadashi decides, and as they both near the skate park the others catch up with them easily, Kei, Kuroo and Tobio stepping onto their skateboards, Shoyo fastening his skates. 

“We’re gonna skate for a while, we’ll get to the project soon or whatever.” Tadashi figures that Kei is actually being genuine as he watches Kei join with Kuroo and Tobio, and as he looks back to Kenma he senses a feeling of relief from him, to which he links arms with him once more and nods. “Mhm! We’ll wait here or something,” A yell from Shoyo who’s currently skating down the large bowl of the park, landing flat on his ass. “Try not to let Shoyo get in the way…” Sheepishly, Tadashi laughs as he continues, and Kei merely nods in return, wordlessly rolling away with both Kuroo and Tobio pulling out of him towards a quarter pipe that was free.

Sitting down on the bench parallel to the same bowl Shoyo was attempting to pick himself up from, Tadashi and Kenma sigh, presumably in nerves and both equal tiredness, relief even.

“They’re a lot.” Kenma clicks his tongue, unlinking his arm from Tadashi’s and slipping his backpack from his back, pulling out his pencil case and barren new sketchbook for the new school year. “Oh well, might as well take advantage of that.” He wasn’t referring to the boys, Tadashi realizes, but instead to the color of the sky that was slowly turning orange from the sun setting, and despite the park being full of people Tadashi  _ knew  _ he wouldn’t get along with, the metal beams and slopes covered in graffiti looked  _ really  _ nice against the sunset. 

“Good idea.” Tadashi chimes in, doing the same with his backpack but instead taking out the start of the Chemistry project that got them to the skatepark to begin with. 

Ferromagnetic metals, otherwise known as  _ magnets _ , Tadashi had to admit that yes, this subject alone was boring, but he might as well get it out of the way for Kei’s sake, because knowing him, he’d fall asleep at the very thought alone. 

It wasn’t that confusing, why magnets made sense and why both nickel and iron had the ability to magnetize uniformly, though as Tadashi is writing down several bullet points in simpler language, his attention is taken by a light laugh and a skid against pavement.

Kei was currently in a heap against the skate park concrete, Kuroo bursting out into laughter, Tobio too, but Kei was smiling, and Tadashi was smiling too, he just didn’t know it yet.

“Take it you didn’t need the pepper spray?” Kenma’s tone is teasing, or well, as teasing as it can be for him, and he looks at Tadashi with a smile, interrupting his thoughts, to which Tadashi rolls his eyes with a laugh, writing the date at the top of the page he just filled to the brim with notes. 

“Yeah, he’s actually not that bad,” Kenma hums in curiosity, sketching the skatepark gates that had a few padlocks dotted on them. “I mean...he did help me earlier,” Tadashi turns to the next page, drawing a scaringly straight line at the top of the page. “--he also doesn’t seem to care about what everyone says about me, took me to the nurses office and everything..” Kenma nods with his pencil now in his mouth, eraser busy against the sketchpad as he scoffs, pencil now out of his mouth. “So he did the bare minimum? That’s a change.” Playfully, Tadashi nudges his shoulder in reply, and Kenma nudges him back. “It’s true, you’ve nothing to be sorry for y’know, and if any of them try to joke about it again you know me and Shoyo have your back, right?” 

_ Of course _ Tadashi knew the two had his back, he’s known since they saved him one time from  _ another  _ swirly from the swim team last year, blaming him on their ace’s abrupt departure. 

Tadashi considers himself lucky to have friends like Shoyo and Kenma, they were the most non judgmental people he knew, and appreciated each other for all of the right reasons. 

He’d miss them when it was time to finally graduate and leave the hell that high school had been for the past two years.

“Yeah...I know.” Lifting his head, Tadashi smiles at Kenma softly, knowingly, and then the two continue to do their own individual work, pen against paper and pencil against sketchbook, Shoyo’s screams and hollers turning to background noise, Kei’s laughs into music.

* * *

“I didn’t know you had that in ya’ little guy, seriously you’re fucking  _ awesome _ .” Kuroo is currently slapping Shoyo on the back, and Shoyo, despite getting a pretty hard slap, is  _ pumped _ for lack of a better word, a fist in the air as he skates over the bench that both Tadashi and Kenma were on, tired, and looking for a bottle of water to steal from. 

At least an hour had passed, and now the sky is  _ deep _ orange, slowly turning into red, both Tadashi and Kenma almost done with their respective work that felt like it took hours to do.

“Really...that was awesome….” Tobio on the other hand, is keeping up with Shoyo’s pace, his tone all the more breathy and unbelieving, head dipped to his level, and Shoyo proudly chuckles, one of the straps from his overalls now slipping down his shoulder, his forehead shiny with sweat. 

Kei however, is slowly following behind, taking the cigarette that had been behind his ear the entire time and lighting it, sticking it between his lips. He was tired, but all the more used to wasting hours away at the skate park unlike the other two who hopped on the skateboarding train in the middle of the summer, to which Kei was pretty impressed with himself having to teach them the basics.

Kuroo, Tobio and Shoyo were sitting on the pavement talking in  _ earfulls _ in front of Tadashi and Kenma, both of them focused on finishing their work, putting in some last minute details. 

With a drag of his smoke, Kei sits down beside Tadashi, seeing as it was the only space  _ left _ within their impromptu circle, and Tadashi, without looking up, moves to the side a little to give him more space, touching shoulders with Kenma until he moves a little too. 

“Pass it, bro, i’m dying over here.” Kuroo is reaching out to Kei, and Kei rolls his eyes and passes the cigarette to him, taking the opportunity to put his skateboard on the pavement beside him and take the time to look at the paper Tadashi is writing away at. 

Now that he had nothing else to do, he decided to  _ actually _ bother with the project Tadashi was now, doing on his own. 

“Almost done?”

Kei would blame it on the serotonin that skateboarding gave him, but he actually wanted to check in with Tadashi, and even though he  _ warned  _ Tadashi that he was going to be skating the rest of the day away, he did feel a  _ little  _ bad for leaving him with all of the work. 

“Mhm, just need to write our names and this segment will be done.” Tadashi looks up to Kei with a smile, and as much as Kei’s tobacco breath isn’t the nicest thing on the planet, he’s somewhat grateful that the taller decided to sit next to him, it was like a show of trust between them starting or something. 

“Magnets?” Kei’s leaning closer now, his head nearly on Tadashi’s shoulder, the diminishing light from the sky joined with the faint skatepark lights is not helping Kei’s already bad sight to begin with. 

“Yeah, just write your name there.” Although Tadashi wasn’t fully aware of just how close the two were, the rest of the group were as they glanced in what they thought was secret, watching as Tadashi offered his pen to Kei. 

“It’s alright, I got one, remember?” Holding up the pen that Tadashi had previously given him a day ago with a smile, Kei finds it a little unbelievable that the two were having a conversation without stuttering or making things awkward, and as Tadashi smiles in response, Kei quickly signs his name, finally leaning back.

It’s only then, when Kei pulls away, that Tadashi realizes how cool it was without him so close. 

“You ever had a smoke, Freckles?” Kuroo is holding the cigarette that had now diminished in size from being passed to both him and Tobio, out in front of Tadashi’s view, breaking the moment he almost got lost into. 

“U-Uhm I don’t think--” 

“Oh come on! Have a little fun!” Kenma rolls his eyes at Kuroo’s excitement for something that made your lungs rot away, Shoyo’s attention is taken away from Tobio asking him fifty questions about the heel kick he did that  _ totally wasn’t just luck _ . 

Although he doesn’t know why he looks at Kei, Kei answers Tadashi’s silent glance with a blink, taking another cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it, holding it out in front of him. “I know you’re not about to give him one that was in your mouth, Kuroo.” Kei laughs softly then, holding the new cigarette out to Tadashi, to which, gingerly, Tadashi takes it with a blink.

Tadashi was  _ never _ nervous about school, about learning new things, about being wrong, but for the first time he’s nervous about taking a  _ drag _ wrong, and possibly making an embarrassment of himself, and that certainly said a lot about his placement on the high school hierarchy ladder. 

It’s warm, and it’s getting smaller as Tadashi continues to stare at it, the whole group falling silent as they watch the  _ virgin smoker _ , and Kenma lightly nudges Tadashi, almost as if to say  _ hurry up, you look like a loser _ , and under the weak fluorescent skate park lights, Tadashi takes his first drag of a cigarette in senior year. 

After a loud hack of a cough and a round of laughs as they slap their sore thighs, Tadashi shakes his head and sticks his tongue out, holding the cigarette out to Kei. “Nope, no, that was  _ gross _ ..” Kei chuckles, taking the cigarette from his grip, and as he takes a drag of the same smoke the rest of the group are wiping their eyes from tears, Kenma chuckling softly and closing his sketchpad. 

“You guys aren’t  _ that  _ bad,  _ fuck _ , that was funny.” Kuroo is now laying down against the cool pavement, the smell of wheels and hot concrete in the air, and now, tobacco, much to Tadashi’s  _ literal  _ distaste. 

“Aren’t that bad? What’s that supposed to mean?” Shoyo is sticking his head out from behind Tobio, knees balancing on Tobio’s skateboard that he’s traded for his skates for now, which don’t  _ actually _ fit Tobio. “It means that I thought you were losers, but you’re kinda fun.” Sitting up from the pavement and wiping his back off to the best of his ability, Kuroo bangs on his chest, and Tadashi finally regains his composure, a little embarrassed as he packs his backpack.

Kei nudges his shoulder, giving him a glance that Tadashi couldn’t quite decipher, but a glance nonetheless; it was new.

“Listen, I got an invite to Bokuto’s party, complete  _ dickhead, _ I know, but a party’s a party.” Tadashi widens his eyes at this, and so does Kenma, Shoyo too, they  _ really  _ didn’t like the soccer department. Wiping at his nose, Kuroo shrugs and throws the butt of his cigarette to the side. “You can come if you want, or not, I don’t really care.” Although the statement is directed at all six of them, Kuroo is looking directly at Kei, and Kei knows it’s because of his blatant dislike for all things Bokuto, but he was right, a party was a party and he hadn’t gotten wasted in a while. 

“I’ll go if Freckles goes.” It was unexpected, to be given an ultimatum by Kei that directly involved Tadashi, and as Tadashi finishes to pack his backpack up he blinks in question.

He never really  _ got  _ invited to parties, how would he act? What would he wear? Did he have to bring something for good manners? And come on, it was the  _ soccer _ team, the very same team that bullied and gave Tadashi regular bloody noses. 

“Come on Tadashi! It’d be fun! We never get to go to parties!” Expectedly, Shoyo is excitedly bouncing in whatever position he was settled in, and as all eyes were basically on Tadashi, he decides to cave. 

Kei would help him if he had questions...right?

“If it’s alright with my parents...then...sure.”

A few high fives were shared, a little cheer here and there, and in the middle of a Thursday night in a skate park he’d never been to, Tadashi wonders if any of this was real.


	4. Creep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably one of my favorite chapters to write so far, so i'm pretty excited to have it up, I hope you all enjoy <3  
> Chapter 5 will be up sometime next week as it'll be on the lengthier side, so I hope this is a good enough chapter to leave you all waiting on!

**Chapter 4: Creep** ****

“What about this?”

“Uhm...well...”

“Well?”

“No. It looks awful.” 

Tadashi, clad in a pineapple print dad shirt, sighs in both defeat and exhaustion, dropping both his arms and head dramatically in the middle of the local clothes store. It was Friday, the day of Bokuto’s party that hesitantly and now regretfully, Tadashi agreed to attend alongside Shoyo and Kenma who were both criticizing his questionable clothing choices.

Fashion was hard, parties were hard, looking good was hard, and socializing was something only  _ real _ geniuses could do, Tadashi decides. 

Sitting in between Shoyo and Kenma, pineapple shirt still on, he whines, and Kenma rolls his eyes, holding up a pair of mom jeans, the ends of them ripped and frayed. “You still have this to try on.” Shoyo nods, holding up a rather plain black t-shirt, a loose gold necklace with a cross pendant on the end. It was obvious that out of the three, Tadashi was the  _ least  _ experienced with fashion and outfits, and making them look good was another caliber that for now, was unattainable to a fashion peasant like him.

“But i’m not even a Christian!” Despite his whines, he takes the clothes as Shoyo and Kenma near push him back into the changing room, to which Tadashi closes the curtain swiftly and maybe with a little sass to go with it. It wasn’t like anybody was going to  _ look  _ at him anyways, and what was the point in getting a brand new outfit if it wasn’t permanently decided that he was going to get into Bokuto’s party to begin with? What if they ruined his new clothes with silly string and another swirly? Maybe a throw of punch in a red cup instead? 

Groaning and pressing his head against the cool changing room stall, Tadashi exhales for a few seconds, his eyes closed. For once, he  _ really _ thought he was going to  _ die  _ from nerves, for the whole situation was even scarier than going to Kei’s house for the first time, or not knowing that a pop quiz was going to happen on a groggy Monday morning. Getting the money together for the outfit wasn’t  _ that  _ hard in comparison, because even if his foster parents didn’t give him much, they gave him enough money for lunch during the week, and as Tadashi made his  _ own  _ lunch every morning he saved every penny. 

He hoped it covered the cost for the outfit he eventually gets, that, or he’d show up in a paper bag rather than anything he had in his closet. 

It doesn’t take Tadashi long to get the outfit currently hung up in the changing room on him, and as soon as he sees his reflection, he smiles for the first time that day. It was simple, and Tadashi  _ loved _ simple, it was probably the  _ only _ simple thing that was going to happen today.

“Can one of you guys help with putting this necklace on? I’m still not sure if I should get it--”

“OH SHUT UP, YOU LOOK SO GOOD.” Jumping up from his seat as Tadashi opens the curtain to the changing room, Shoyo takes the necklace from Tadashi and hooks it around his neck. “Perfect!” A nod of his head and a bright smile, Shoyo beams at Tadashi, looking to Kenma for what Tadashi assumed was agreement, and Kenma nods.

“You look really good, I didn’t think that necklace would suit you.” With the light crinkle of various paper bags Kenma was currently snubbed with babysitting for the day, he reaches into his backpack, pulling out his polaroid that luckily had enough film left. “Smile at the camera, idiots.”

Tadashi blinks, but Shoyo is already throwing an arm around his shoulder, bringing him to face level as he beams at the camera, and Tadashi smiles too, albeit in surprise, but smiles nonetheless as Shoyo lets out a bleat of ‘CHEESE!’, his tags still on the clothes he had yet to buy.

“Memories.” Shrugging, Kenma catches Tadashi’s somewhat confused expression, how he’s scratching behind his head in embarrassment. He was one of those people that  _ hated _ getting his photo taken, and Kenma had a knack for picking up on pretty much any energy that Tadashi let off. 

It only hit Tadashi then, in the middle of the local mall, that this was the  _ first _ party he was going to in highschool, save the one he went to for the swim team’s winning celebration last year. 

Tadashi smiles weakly at that, to himself of course, trying to hide the fact that to this day he missed Akira to no end, and that no party, whether it was with Kei, Kuroo and Tobio or just himself, could change that fact; but he wanted it to. 

He so  _ desperately  _ wanted it to.

* * *

“WITH THE LIGHTS OUT! IT’S LESS DANGEROUS!”

Kuroo was standing up on Kei’s bed, dirty converse and all. 

“HERE WE ARE NOW! ENTERTAIN US!”

Tobio was playing the guitar on Kei’s hairbrush, swirling his arm in all the  _ wrong  _ ways.

“I FEEL STUPID! AND CONTAGIOUS!” 

The three of them are singing together now, Kei jumping at every beat, Kei’s Mother yelling up to them only a distant whisper to them as they’re completely in their own world, Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit loudly blaring from Kei’s doodled on radio. 

Oftentimes, Kei was mistaken for being reserved, uninterested, not an ounce of enthusiasm to spare, and while that was  _ mostly _ true, he had his moments, and those moments were usually for Kuroo, Tobio and his four bedroom walls to see  _ only _ . Although it didn’t look or seem like it, the three had a pretty close knit friendship, and while confiding in each other wasn’t really  _ their thing _ , the level of trust they shared was pretty incomparable to anybody else in the student body. And hey, they got pretty good pot for each other when they needed it, oh, and forged signatures for P.E, too.

“Fuck, never gets old.” Kuroo is laying against the comfort of Kei’s bed now, an arm draped over his forehead as he pants in exhaustion, he wasn’t the athletic type, and jumping for four solid minutes was his own personal version of heavy exercise. 

Laughing lightly, Kei settles himself on the floor, a knee bent as he adjusts his glasses after leaning across to lower his radio, Nirvana, Come As You Are, now melting into mere background noise as the clinking of glass bottles breaks the music in the room. 

“You managed to get it?” Kei pipes up, his gaze now flicking to Tobio who’s currently holding  _ liquid gold _ in a paper bag. “Of course I did, had to pay my brother double the amount though.” Tobio rolls his eyes at the mention of having to pay his brother, but all that mattered to Kei and Kuroo, who were now, rather enthusiastically sitting up, were the bottles of beer currently being kept away from them by a mere thin layer of brown paper. “It’s good shit though, so don’t drink it all at once,” Kuroo nods in agreement towards Tobio, rolling a cigarette that  _ definitely  _ had pot laced through it. “True, Bokuto will probably have some cheap shit there too.” Licking over the cigarette paper, he slips it into his pocket alongside the other two he previously rolled. 

Much to his own disagreement, Kei was  _ excited _ , even if it  _ was _ Bokuto’s party he was going to. It had been way too long and he needed to get  _ wasted _ as if his life depended on it, and with Kuroo and Tobio there, it would probably be a lot more fun than he was already expecting, drunk outbursts and all. 

With the abrupt sound of the doorbell ringing and Kei’s Mother’s heels clicking  _ yet again _ , Kei stands up and opens the window fully before opening his bedroom door, glancing back to both Kuroo and Tobio who were now busy changing CD’s. “That’s probably Tadashi, be back in a sec.”

* * *

Kenma and Shoyo were just as surprised as Tadashi first was when they make it to Kei’s  _ ridiculously _ large house, they had the same reaction to Kei’s Mother and her bichon frise, and equally, to Kei’s bedroom that looked  _ nothing _ like the rest of the house; there was  _ no way _ you’d get a chandelier in here, Shoyo thinks to himself, his eyes all telling once he steps into the stuffy bedroom that  _ stinks _ of sweat. 

“Ugh, finally you  _ virgins _ are here, you got any goods?” Standing up, Kuroo fist bumps Shoyo, to which Kenma rolls his eyes (A permanent reaction to most of Kuroo’s actions.) and slips his backpack off, his bag full of bottles of cheap craft beer he managed to take from his brother’s room; it wasn’t like he’d notice anyways since he was at college.

“Oh come on, shorty, lighten up, use your words.” Kenma replies to that same  _ annoying _ tone with a raise of his middle finger, and Shoyo laughs equally at Kenma’s unforgiving nature and Kuroo’s defeated facade, making his way to Tobio to tell him all things skating and how he  _ already  _ missed Tobio’s skateboard, to which Tobio snickers somewhat pridefully; that skateboard was his  _ baby _ .

“Hey, I don’t think i’ve ever seen you wear something like  _ that _ .” Kei, surprisingly, is the first one to speak between him and Tadashi, his gaze following the shorter as he sits beside him, his chain catching the light from Kei’s dull lampshade covered light and glaring onto his glasses. “Oops--” Laughing somewhat sheepishly upon noticing how he was near  _ blinding _ Kei, he slips the chain behind his shirt. “Yeah...I know...the guys picked it out for me, not half bad, right?” Kei shakes his head, looking down at the plain black shirt now that it was free of anything gold. 

Admit-fully, Kei can say he’s  _ glad _ that he and Tadashi can talk, and though it took such little time to grow somewhat comfortable with one another, it was nice to carry a somewhat decent conversation, smile instead of freeze up and look the other way. 

“It’s different.” Is all Kei can manage to say, and it was true. Kei, Kuroo and Tobio pretty much dressed the same as always, the same could be said for Shoyo and Kenma save a few paint marks, but Tadashi looked like he put in  _ effort _ , wanted to make the conscious decision to wear anything but a white shirt tucked into colored pants. 

The thought makes Kei chuckle to himself, his gaze now elsewhere, and as Tadashi opens his mouth to say something in return, their short moment of conversation is cut short by a joined rustle of bags, clinking of bottles and a holler from Shoyo and Kenma. 

“Alright, let’s go! Make sure you hide the sound of those bottles, shorty.” Pointing in Kenma’s direction, Kuroo opens the bedroom door, standing aside as both Tobio and Shoyo near  _ run _ down the stairs in impatience. 

Expectantly, Kuroo looks to Kei, and Tadashi brushes down his new jeans as both of them stand up, Kenma linking arms with Tadashi as presumed, Kuroo slapping Kei in the back to which it’s met with a glare and a slap back. 

Whatever he was going to say could  _ wait _ , that was if he could remember whatever that was at the party he so very  _ dreaded _ .

* * *

Nothing, absolutely  _ nothing _ could prepare Tadashi for what he sees outside Bokuto’s house.

You’d think that Kuroo mooning a car passing by on the way to Bokuto’s would prepare him, or Shoyo dropping a full bottle of beer on the hard pavement, resulting them in having to run for a whole block would, or maybe even the way Kei stayed by his side the entire time they walked there, but no,  _ nothing _ could amount the sight that was a classic Bokuto resident party. 

Before they even entered the house there were beer bottles strewn across the front lawn, red plastic cups to match, and the couples, cheerleaders, jocks...nerds(?) were all pretty much just the same as the beer bottles, useless, empty of all logical thoughts and already completely  _ drunk _ ; and it was only eleven pm. 

Tadashi forgot how they managed to get through the front door with a breeze, maybe it was due to everybody lost in their own world, cups tipped upwards, but the music was  _ thumping _ and he swears he already has a headache as The Backstreet Boys, Everybody makes his body near shake with every beat and yell from various groups dotted throughout the kitchen and living room.

If he looked to his left, Tadashi could see a couple pressed against the kitchen island’s countertop making out, and if he looked to his right he could see the hockey department playing beer pong and getting  _ way  _ too into it. 

All Tadashi can really do is...blink. He’s actually dumbfounded, not knowing what to do in the situation he got himself stuck into, Kenma still glued to his side. 

“You look like you’ve  _ seen a ghost _ .” Tobio grins in Tadashi’s direction as he yells over the music, and as he feels something cold press against his chest he notices that Tobio was handing him a beer. “Liquid courage.” As Tadashi watches Tobio wink at him in support, he reluctantly takes the bottle from him, a little of the said beer spilling from the top of the bottle as someone nudges Tadashi rather aggressively in an attempt to get past him. 

Looking behind himself, all too aware, Tadashi blinks once more in confusion now that Tobio was nowhere to be seen, Shoyo too. “They ran to the pool, god, they’re too excited, it makes me tired just by looking at them.” Kenma was shouting directly into Tadashi’s ear, and he’s thankful for it this time around as the music was near deafening him. 

He really  _ wasn’t _ suited for parties. 

By the time Tadashi decides to actually say something, Kenma already has a bottle of beer tipped upwards, downing the liquid in one smooth swallow, to which Tadashi widens his eyes, a surprised, sheepish laugh sounding from him. “Wow...I thought you--”

“What? That I didn’t drink? I don’t, but everybody else is-- It kinda tastes like shit.” Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Kenma settles the empty bottle on the sofa behind him, probably hitting some couple in the back of the head who  _ totally  _ don’t care because they’re too busy swapping spit. 

At the mention of everybody, Tadashi takes a sip of the beer in his hand,  _ kinda self conscious of how much he looks like a loser _ , and he grimaces under the dim lights of the house, still somewhat overwhelmed by pretty much  _ all  _ of his senses being on overdrive right now, on high alert to say the least. 

“Right...everyone else is…” Tadashi mutters to himself amidst the loud cheers from the hockey beer pong,  _ someone must have won _ , he thinks to himself, and Kenma hums, not quite hearing Tadashi before he shrugs, grabbing a red cup that was probably  _ riddled _ with some sort of cheap liquor, handing it to Tadashi and taking the bottle of beer out of his hold, to which Tadashi dumbly follows, gaze on the red cup that probably wasn’t all that clean. “It’s sweeter, probably soda and vodka, you’ll like it more.” 

It’s only when he takes a sip from the drink and notices that he  _ does _ like it more, that Tadashi realizes he hasn’t seen Kei and Kuroo since they arrived. Although he knows Kei wouldn’t want him  _ swinging out of him _ all night, it’s not like he could  _ actually _ find him hidden among the crowd of at  _ least  _ 80 students, seniors and juniors alike, and that was  _ inside _ the house alone. 

Sighing for what felt like the tenth time already, Tadashi finally decides to say  _ fuck it _ and attempt to down the cup of soda and alcohol in his hand, only getting around half way down, and as he sputters a little, Kenma laughs loudly at the sight alone, grabbing a red cup for himself and tapping it against Tadashi’s.

“Cheers! We’re gonna have a good time tonight, okay? No thinking about Akira.” 

Although it was nice to see Kenma loosen up, the very mention of Akira has Tadashi frozen for a moment, and as if on instinct he gulps before downing the rest of the cup, eyes screwed together, throwing it to the floor as he wipes his top lip; it was a little easier this time around,  _ anything  _ to get his mind off of  _ him _ . 

“That’s what I’m talking about! Come on let’s dance!” 

As the sound of It’s Like That starts  _ blaring _ from the speakers within Bokuto’s house, Tadashi looks to the table full of red cups, taking two more for both him and Kenma, nodding with a grin. Grabbing Kenma’s arm once the shorter downs his second cup with little to no effort, Tadashi drags him to a space a little further away from the front door. 

Whilst in the middle of teenagers much like himself, not nearly as drunk but maybe just as excited, Tadashi forgets about everything else for a while. 

Kenma is jumping with him, the music vibrating through the soles of their shoes, liquor burning the back of his throat; he could get used to it for a night, maybe.

* * *

As crazy as the kitchen and living room is, it had  _ nothing  _ on the garden and pool.

Deck chairs were covered with silly string, drinks spilled across garden tiles that probably cost a fortune, clothes thrown into neatly cut, shaped bushes and recently mown grass, a few guys running around  _ butt  _ naked chasing others which presumably had their underwear on their head, the cheerleader squad giggling and pointing, because why wouldn’t they.

Kei and Kuroo were currently standing on top of the deck table, singing their hearts out to whatever shitty song was currently playing, beer bottles in their hands half empty, their own supply of drinks now running dry, but that didn’t seem to matter as they were already  _ wasted _ .

Tobio and Shoyo were in the pool, all of their clothes  _ missing  _ spare their boxers, splashing each other and attempting to dip the other, Shoyo ending up on Tobio’s shoulders in the process. They eventually fall however, to which the small group of soccer players howl in laughter, seemingly non-judgmental and oblivious to the fact that Shoyo was, in  _ their own words _ , on the bottom of the high school ladder. 

Tadashi is lucky that he’s tipsy to not get nervous, a giddy Kenma attached to his hip as per usual, and as Kuroo notices the two he waves loudly, jumping off of the table whilst Kei is now singing on by himself, unaware that Kuroo just left him to act like a complete  _ clown _ on his own. 

Kenma is dancing in his spot, or well,  _ attempting _ to, most of it is awkward movements of his arms, but Kuroo takes notice of it quickly and widens his eyes with a beam, looking to Tadashi whilst pointing in Kenma’s direction. 

“Looks like he loosened up, huh?” He throws an arm around Kenma’s shoulder, and Tadashi frees himself of Kenma’s grip, a little thankful as it was starting to get  _ too  _ warm and sticky. Kenma playfully pushes at Kuroo’s chest, but for once he doesn’t push him away to the extent that Kuroo gets chills from his coldness. “Shut up, get me another drink and maybe I’ll entertain you with a conversation.”

Forever the one accepting of challenges, Kuroo simply sticks his thumb up and disappears back inside. Kenma sighs giddily in what Tadashi assumes is fake relief, and the two continue to dance in place once more, Tadashi’s second cup of liquor slowly emptying as the seconds pass and laughs are shared. 

It was funny, Tadashi was so  _ scared _ of even showing up to the party, and though it was rightful in every logical way he still had the ability to think of, it stood out to him now that he was  _ scared _ of letting himself have fun, of letting go, and now that he’s  _ actually  _ doing it he isn’t sure what he was so afraid of before, but he’s  _ over _ it, and he’s completely  _ serene  _ at a dirty high school party in the middle of September.

“Freckles, you having fun?” Turning around with a tap to his shoulder, Tadashi doesn’t notice that it’s Kei asking him a question until he sees him, cheeks flushed red and everything, mostly because his tone is  _ fun _ and upbeat, and more prominently, laced with  _ beer _ . 

“Lemme think...yes, yes and uhhh..yes!” Grinning brightly, Tadashi’s cheeks are equally as flushed as Kei’s, but with his freckles on top of it Kei finds himself staring a little bit too much than he’d like to admit, his nickname still staying true. “Good, it’s fucking fun, right?” He takes a swig of the beer bottle in his hand, leaving it on the deck table he was previously  _ trampling on _ now that it’s empty. Tadashi eyes the bottle, wondering just how  _ many  _ Kei had drank before he came to the garden. 

“It’s better than Chemistry at least.” Tadashi is shouting now as the music seemingly gets louder, grinning teasingly as he pokes Kei in his side, to which Kei rolls his eyes and pokes Tadashi back, earning a laugh out of Tadashi that for once, sounds genuine. 

“AYEEEE KUROO, GLAD YOU COULD MAKE IT MAN!” 

Bokuto is as loud as he is obnoxious. His voice echoes throughout the garden as he yells, as well as the slap that he gives to Kuroo’s back, the taller now returning from the kitchen and balancing three red cups in his hands. Making his way back to Tadashi, Kenma and now Kei, Kuroo is nodding, catching Bokuto’s hand in a  _ way too aggressive  _ hand shake. 

“Sick fucking party, man, whatever you got in that bowl is--” Kuroo raises a hand and whistles in what Tadashi judges as  _ something _ good, and he takes he cup that Kuroo hands to him without looking at him, immediately sipping at it as he watches the two talk.

“They look like idiots, huh?” Kei is leaning down now, beer breath close to Tadashi’s ear, and Tadashi laughs, looking to him with a playful roll of his eyes, watching Kenma after as he languidly makes his way to Kuroo’s side, tipping his cup up again, the sound of someone jumping into the pool with a loud  _ splash _ sounding behind them. 

He’s happy, even if that said happiness refused to stay for long.

“Something funny--?” At first, Bokuto’s glance is as friendly as his tone, wanting to get in on what he presumes is a joke, but slowly, panic starts to set in as Tadashi notices that Bokuto put two and two together, two and two being Tadashi at  _ his _ party. 

“Hold.” 

Looking Tadashi up and down, Bokuto expresses what he’s saying, pretty much perfectly Tadashi might add, with both his expression and arms waving. Pointing. Pointing at Tadashi. 

He flushes, his former nervousness that he previously washed down with a sip of beer and several red cups now resurfacing, and he gulps, instinctively leaning into Kei who still had his  _ horrid _ beer breath fanning against his neck. 

“Who the  _ fuck  _ invited the fairy?” Tadashi nervously cowers in on himself, and both Kuroo and Kenma glance to Bokuto who was now standing in front of Kei and Tadashi, and considering how  _ small _ Bokuto was compared to Kei, Tadashi didn’t need to be told twice, or convinced for that matter, that Bokuto had  _ balls _ .

“Drop it, man, we’re having--”

“Nah, I won’t drop it, you think I want a bender here? Making the guys uncomfortable?”

Kuroo falls quiet at Bokuto’s comment, and Tadashi tries with everything he has in him to  _ not  _ cry, to  _ not  _ burst into tears, to  _ not _ run away, and as he cowers back all the more, Kei can practically feel Tadashi’s heart rate increase, can feel heat continue to build at the nape of his neck that he’s so close to. 

The group is silent, and as Bokuto takes a step forward, Kei instinctively steps forward, freeing Tadashi of his shadow for now. 

“What gives? You in cahoots with Freckles? Move out of the fucking way, Kei.”

For the first time in a while, the name Freckles makes Tadashi shudder in what he guesses is disgust, because until now he seen it as a term of endearment, a term of getting to know him better; of understanding that he wasn’t just the school’s gay kid. 

He was only starting to  _ like _ the fact that Kei had a nickname all for him.

“I’m serious, move out of the fucking--” Tadashi screws his eyes shut as Bokuto steps closer, closes in on his frame that Kei is half standing in front of, and before he can suck a breath in, the group of cheerleaders are screaming in high pitched surprise, a dull thump to concrete following.

* * *

Kei doesn’t know why he did it.

It’s like something took over him and told him to fight instead of Tadashi’s inevitable flight that he, for some  _ unknown _ reason, didn’t want to happen. 

Kei wouldn’t think of himself as particularly gifted with strength, he was actually pretty scrawny if you looked at him, but he sure could pack a  _ punch _ if he meant it, and he meant it when he punched Bokuto. Hard. Across the jaw to be exact. 

Truth be told, Kei can’t really understand why and  _ how _ he punched Bokuto so hard, his knuckles hurt, Kuroo, Kenma and Tadashi are looking at him with widened eyes, the cheerleader squad was watching intently, hell, even Tobio and Hinata stopped fucking around just to see what the scream was about, and why Bokuto, unknown to Kei who is now looking directly at Tadashi, is swinging his fist back like his life depended on it. 

Bokuto’s punch was aggressive, sloppy, but still aggressive, and it hurt like a motherfucker. 

The group of students outside all gasp in unison, and Tadashi silently watches in what Kei now  _ knows _ is horror, fear. 

Staring at the damp concrete under his dirty converse, Kei takes notice of the blood that’s now dripping from his nose in uneven drops, shock beginning to set in, and he stands there in his own bubble for a moment, utterly silent.

That’s until something is  _ breaking _ past that bubble and jolting him back to reality again.

Tadashi reaches out for Kei’s arm, and while he grabs it Kei doesn’t bother to move away, to shake him off, no, instead, he follows Tadashi’s lead as he runs past the group of people crowding the doorway and then, up the stairs, Bokuto’s yells being heard throughout the house as they run to the bathroom wordlessly, leaving it behind them.

* * *

They’re in the bathroom now, settled on the cold bathroom tiles, door locked. Sure, they got a few glances as they pushed past, but it was better than staying outside and getting into a full out fist fight, that was the  _ last _ thing Tadashi wanted.

He’s confused, confused as to  _ why _ Kei came to his defense to begin with, why he would  _ risk _ getting hurt so bad for something that  _ definitely _ wasn’t worth it. If it really came down to it, Tadashi would have left the party by himself if he had to. 

That didn’t matter now, though, all that mattered was making sure that Kei was okay, and luckily, Tadashi knew an awful lot about bloody and bruised noses. 

“Oh my  _ god _ , I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry.” Tadashi was currently  _ panicking _ despite how high his levels of confusion were, pacing back and forth in the small bathroom. 

Running the water from the sink that Kei was standing in front of, he tries to the best of his ability in his tipsy state, to  _ not _ splash Kei with said water, because the last thing he needs is a wet ass along with the bloody nose he was already sporting. That’d be  _ perfect _ , to be responsible for  _ both _ things.

“I’m such an idiot-- Actually, we’re all idiots for thinking that I could  _ actually _ show up here,” Continuing to pace around the bathroom, Tadashi takes another hurried sip of the red cup he hadn’t yet finished, and when he actually takes the time to  _ look _ at Kei in his somewhat defeated form, blood continuing to drip past his lip, he sighs, downing the rest of his drink with a loud exhale. “Don’t ever do that again, I would’ve went home you fucking  _ idiot _ .” 

“I didn’t want you to go home.” 

A break in Tadashi thinking out loud, Kei rolls his eyes and wipes his nose with his sleeve. “Why else would I fucking punch the guy? For calling you gay?” Tadashi blinks, stopping with his pacing. 

Since when did Kei  _ actually _ care about Tadashi being around? And since when did that amount to punching Bokuto of all people? It was all news to him.

“Not in a bad way? But I’m pretty sure you’re used to that.” He finally stands up straight, Kei that is, reaching into his pocket to pull out a half used cigarette, and before he has the chance to light it, Tadashi is reaching for the same cigarette, grabbing it and throwing it into the toilet, not getting the chance to pull the chain. 

“Don’t even think of smoking right now, do you even know how bad you’re bleeding?” 

_ Yeah, I do, I can feel it,  _ Kei thinks to himself, too tired to fight Tadashi back with words, nevermind with actions, he feels like a car has hit him. 

A few seconds pass, Kei lost in his thoughts, Tadashi presumably doing the same, the sound of the bathroom tap continuing to run playing on loop in the background. 

“Here.” Breaking the silence and holding up a dampened, bundled up bunch of toilet paper, Tadashi closes the distance between the two and pats just under Kei’s nose, leaning up on his tip toes and wiping up whatever blood he could as Kei attempts to regain his composure, that, and pretty much any idea of  _ what the fuck _ just happened and why Tadashi was so close and  _ not _ stuttering.

Maybe it was instinct, maybe it was protectiveness, maybe it was both, but ultimately, Kei decides he protected Tadashi for all of the right reasons.

Tadashi is gentle as he works, eyes soft as he wipes and holds the tissue against Kei’s upper lip for a few seconds despite how he was  _ just _ screaming at him a few minutes earlier. Helping Kei right now was all Tadashi could think of, all that seemed like the logical thing to do.

After a few more seconds of wiping, Kei holds the tissue himself, wordlessly, to which Tadashi offers a soft smile, and surprisingly, blood and all, Kei offers one back, his hand brushing against Tadashi’s as he holds the tissue; Tadashi uttering a soft laugh in reply, his eyes shaping into crescents. 

Tadashi didn’t  _ actually _ want to yell at Kei, because days ago it would’ve been something he was terrified to do, that, and Kei pretty much saved his ass tonight, and he didn’t  _ have _ to.

He doesn’t know why, but he’s blushing, and as they stand in silence, Kei against the sink and Tadashi somewhat aligned with his taller figure, the quiet noise of music and chatter barely makes it past the bathroom walls they had a little privacy in, and in that moment they both notice just how  _ close _ they were to each other, though decide to do nothing about it; it was comfortable, breath dancing on each other’s lips, chins.

Kei prides himself on knowing that the song was Radiohead Creep, he could make it out by the awful singing it was paired with by fifty percent of the party, but he wouldn’t say it out loud, for he was  _ far _ too focused on drawing constellations inside his mind, using Tadashi’s freckles as pinpoints and guiding points. 

They were always so distracting, and for now, the nickname Freckles had a whole different meaning.

It confused him to say the least, why he and Tadashi got close so quickly despite him doing so little to even  _ help _ their friendship grow. Maybe it was because he saved him from a swirly, or because he invited him to the skate park when others wouldn’t even bother to look in Tadashi’s way, or maybe it was because Tadashi’s love for Chemistry was so  _ strange _ he just had to figure it out, get to know the shorter better. 

“Um...your glasses…” Tadashi’s voice cuts through Kei’s thoughts, and it’s quieter than normal despite the party still being so loud beyond the bathroom. 

Kei swears he wouldn’t hear him if they weren’t so damn close, and as Tadashi is moving slowly he leans forward and up, just enough to take Kei’s glasses with both of his hands, their chests barely touching as he adjusts them, sits them on the bridge of the taller’s nose, now no longer askew, the edges of his warm hands pressing against Kei’s reddened cheeks.

Kei gulps, watching Tadashi carefully, noticing his cheeks heating up once more, and he’s  _ nervous _ ,  **_fuck_ ** , he’s  _ nervous  _ because of Tadashi Yamaguchi and he doesn’t want it to stop for a second. 

The window was open, cold September wind making goosebumps rise on his arms, but Tadashi was  _ warm _ , and his smile was  _ cute, _ and he didn’t have beer breath. Instead, it slightly smelled of cranberries and vodka, and Kei decides that it was much better than the latter.

“Mhm...better.” A gentle smile, and for a second, Tadashi swears he can feel Kei’s heartbeat getting faster against his own chest that ghosts over the tallers. The world seemed to stop for a few seconds, their back garden argument now a distant memory.

Kei blinks, one of his hands that were behind him gripping to the white, porcelain sink. 

He hated being nervous, hated feeling like he couldn’t control his emotions in a situation that really  _ wasn’t _ that big of a deal, but in that moment it  _ was _ a big deal, a big deal because he couldn’t get Tadashi’s freckles out of his mind.

“Yeah, better.” 

Of course it was better, he could see Tadashi a little clearer now, and he hopes his shaken voice wouldn’t lead Tadashi to believe any differently, followed by the nervous gulp he manages to quieten just a little.

He blames it on the alcohol, but Kei’s fully aware he’s as good as sober right now; it came free with the punch he just ran away from. It was somehow a blessing in disguise though, because Kei decides he  _ wants _ to remember this moment tomorrow morning, Tadashi’s gentle touch and all.

Despite Tadashi having fixed Kei’s glasses and wiping his nose, he lingers for a moment.  _ Something _ was keeping him there, flush against the taller, and seeing as Kei hadn’t pushed him away or bothered to move an inch, he guesses he was content with their position too. 

Blinking once, Kei wonders,  _ just wonders _ , that if he closed his eyes and closed the gap, would he later regret it. 

Tadashi knows he won’t.


End file.
